


A Case of Mistaken Identities

by savya398



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Loki is Lily Potter, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 15:59:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 54,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1694117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savya398/pseuds/savya398
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years ago a mistake was made. Now years later the consequences of that mistake are being brought into to light. A mistake that has the potential to destroy Harry's life as he knows it. His parents aren't who they thought they were, and he's left facing a truth about himself that leaves him uncertain about his future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mistaken

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own the Avengers or Harry Potter.
> 
> This story came about as a way to fill a prompt by njchrispatrick over on fan fiction.net. Basically Thor and Loki are Harry's parents after Loki is banished to Earth in female form and Thor inadvertently stumbles across her. It is a very different premise than my other story A Lily by Any Other Name, and will go down a very different path.

**Prologue: Mistaken**

A beautiful young woman sat alone on a bench. The wind tossed her dark red hair around her pale face creating the impression of a halo of flames. The dark and overcast weather seemed to reflect her melancholy mood. As if to encourage her dark mood a bolt of lightning struck off in the distance to herald a coming storm. She had good reason for her dark disposition. Several unfortunate events had occurred within a very short period of time. She had broken it off with her boyfriend of just a year. The war in the wizarding world was escalating. Her parents had been causalities in the war. And finally she had gotten in a fight with her older sister who had placed the blame of their parent's deaths on her shoulders.

She felt alone in the world with nothing, and no one to cling to. She didn't even have anywhere to go. Her sister had turned her away, she had graduated from her boarding school, and again she wasn't moving in with her boyfriend like they had planned. All her life she had felt a sense of being different. Of just not belonging. When she discovered she was a witch she thought she had finally found her place in the world. Magic was everything to her. She spent massive amounts of time learning all that she could. But she still felt like something was missing almost like she was forgetting something. She still felt like she didn't quite belong, and it wasn't just because of all the anti-muggleborn sentiment. This feeling was so much worse now that she was truly alone.

She'd had the dream again. A dream she always had when she was stressed or upset. In this dream she was someone else. A male someone. Someone who lived in a towering gold castle in a magical realm. Someone who was being punished and then cast out of the glittering, magical world. She never knew why she was being punished or who was punishing her. Unimaginable pain would wash through her after being sentence. She would be twisted and shrunk into a new shape, and it never failed to make her wake up in a cold sweat. She never saw faces in her dreams. But the dreams were so real. They felt more like memories of a past life than a dream.

"Do you need some assistance, my lady?" questioned a deep voice.

Startled, Lily looked up.

/

Thor did not know what to make of Midgard. It was very strange. The people were tiny, and they rode many strange mechanical beasts. Their cities were loud and disorganized. And sadly there was not a feast to be eaten or a beast to slain anywhere in sight. Thor hadn't wanted to come to Midgard. He would much rather be off on an adventure fighting with his friends, Sif and the Warriors Three. Nevertheless, he had asked Heimdall to send him here without his father's permission. He had come here to prove a point. They had been drinking after a hunt, and somehow the topic of Midgard had come up. Volstagg bemoaned what a horrible place it was and Thor had boasted that it couldn't really be all that bad. Somehow it ended with Fandral betting him that he could not last a fortnight on Midgard. Thor was nothing if not prideful and he had promptly set out to prove him wrong.

Now that he was actually here he wished he had taken the time to think things through a bit more. Heimdall had thoughtfully provided him with mortal clothing and some of their currency to aid him. It was a start at least and it would only be for a fortnight. Surely Thor could survive and blend into this strange world's customs for that long. He was the Mighty Thor after all, wielder of Mjolnir.

A loud honking noise like that of an angry goose suddenly sounded. Thor looked to see one of the mortal's metal beasts beside him. An angry man sat inside and was making angry gestures with his hands. Thor frowned unable to understand his words with him inside the metal contraption. Confused Thor walked away. He needed to find lodgings for the night and a place to buy some sustenance. Oh how he wished his brother were here. But he was off on some task or other of his father's. He had not seen him in several years. It wasn't a long time in the life of an Asgardian but it was longer than Thor and Loki had ever been apart.

Just as he was beginning to feel truly lost, he caught sight of a young woman sitting on a bench. She was breathtakingly beautiful with fiery dark red hair, the likes of which he had never seen before. The woman looked as lost as he himself did. Thor decided to approach her. Perhaps together they would not feel so lost and they would be able to change both their bad days.

"Do you need some assistance, my lady?" he greeted.

She looked up, her beautiful emerald green eyes wide as she looked up at him. She was even lovelier up close.

"My lady?" she questioned quirking a brow and smirking.

"Of course, one as lovely as you could be nothing less," Thor said sincerely.

She laughed and glanced away, blushing. "You actually mean that. You're even cornier than Potter."

"I do not know any potters. But would you perhaps like to accompany me for a meal?" Thor asked. "This is my first time visiting this area, and would love to have someone familiar with the area show me around."

"I'm not really in the right mood. I'm afraid I wouldn't be good company," she said softly.

"I disagree. I myself am feeling quite homesick but I believe it would be helpful to make a new friend," Thor smiled giving her hopeful look that never failed to work on his brother.

"Oh, all right. I guess it couldn't hurt. It's better than sitting on this bench until starts raining. Just stop with the puppy dog look, all right?"

Thor grinned and offered her his arm. "Let us find the nearest pub, and partake of some mead. Oh what is your name fair maiden?"

"Lily. Lily Evans."

"The Lovely Lily! I am very pleased to have met you. You have certainly brightened my day, and I will endeavor to do the same for you. I am Thor," Thor boomed.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Lily muttered under her breath.

/

But to her surprise Lily was soon proven wrong about Thor. Once she had gotten past his eccentricities she found he was quite a wonderful person. He was boisterous but kind. He reminded her a great deal of a golden retriever. Always happy and eager to please. But at the same time that seemingly gentle exterior hid a snarling beast that would bite those that they were threatening the ones they cared for.

Thor and Lily spent the next two weeks together. They met regularly to take walks and share meals. Lily felt like she had known Thor her whole life, and Thor felt the same. She had never felt so comfortable with someone, and for a while that sense of being alone seemed to disappear. But Thor was only visiting for just two weeks and then he had to return home. No matter how much they had grown to care for one another. Thor did impart the truth about himself being of Asgard to Lily, and she returned the favor by telling she was a witch. Thor and Lily made the most of their time together, and oh what a wonderful two weeks they had. Almost too wonderful for after Thor left Lily discovered that he had left something behind. Something that wouldn't come for another nine months.

Lily panicked. She feared what would happen if it was ever discovered that her child was the child of a god. A part of her wanted to run and hide but before she could, her ex-boyfriend came to check in on her. She confessed everything to him; he offered her a place to stay to help protect her child. Eventually their old romance rekindled and they got married. James gladly took her child as his own especially after hearing of who his father was. Wizards revered Asgardians and believed that their powers originated from them. James and Lily named him Harek James Potter. Harek was a name with norse origins, the name of kings to honor his biological father. James was for his wonderful adoptive father. And Potter was for the family he had been born into. But everyone simply called him Harry.

James and Lily rejoined the war effort to put a stop to those whose prejudices threatened to destroy them. Their future was looking up until a dark wizard targeted their son. They stood together and didn't believe revealing Harry's true parentage would change a thing. They sacrificed themselves when the dark wizard attacked. Both of them gave their lives for their child. Even if it wasn't really the end for Lily. She wasn't really Lily Potter nee Evans. She never had been. The Evans family never even had a second daughter they were just made to believe they did. It was all a lie. A lie crafted to be punishment for Odin's youngest son, the Trickster whose shape shifting had caused untold damage between Odin and other kingdoms. As punishment for Loki's transgressions, Odin had stripped Loki of his powers. He bound him in his female form, changing only the color of his hair and de-aging him into an infant. Odin placed him with a suitable family who would teach him the morals Odin himself had been unable to. When the time came Odin would restore his son's memories and hopefully Loki would have grown into the mature prince he knew he was capable of being.

Odin hadn't planned on Loki being able to retain some of his magic, or that he would get involved in a mortal war. Odin alone was alerted when Loki had been killed. No one else knew of his punishment, not even his wife who would not have approved of such manipulations but Odin was desperate to change Loki's ways. Not even Heimdall would be able to locate Loki after Odin had stripped of his powers and hidden away on Midgard. Odin had checked in on Loki from time to ensure that he was growing up well but when he was alerted to his peril he went straight down to Midgard himself. He found Loki's body beside an empty crib. Shock flowed through him at the realization that Loki had had a child who he had given his life for. Outside the house Odin could see a mortal man yelling at a half-giant who held a small wriggling bundle his arms. Finally the conversation ended with the half-giant taking the child away on a flying mortal contraption while the dark haired mortal stormed back towards the house.

Creating a duplicate body to leave for the wizards, Odin quickly returned with Loki to Asgard. Odin restored Loki's powers and thus restored Loki to life. For the mortal magic that felled him could not truly kill an immortal. The damage, however, from the mortal Killing Curse had caused Loki to lose his memories as Lily. He didn't remember a thing and Odin probably thought that was for the best. Odin knew Loki's child had survived, however, he believed the child to have a mortal father and thought it would be best to leave the child among other mortals. Besides, without his memories of his time as a mortal Loki was just as wayward as he had always been. Odin did not think he was fit to raise a child.

So little Harek James Potter (who wasn't really Harek James Potter) was left on Earth with his oh so caring mortal relatives. Forgotten by one parent and unknown to the other. It wouldn't be until Loki's fall from the Bifrost into the void beneath that he would regain his memories. When he did it would change everything.

 


	2. Revelations

Loki watched the boy from the cover of the bushes. His newly acquired, not entirely willing servant, Agent Barton formerly of SHIELD, stood guard. He had brought Barton along because Loki couldn’t help but lose himself in watching, and he didn’t want any enemies sneaking up on him whilst vulnerable. Loki wanted to know everything about the boy because the boy was his son. The child from his forgotten time as Lily Evans Potter. And oh what a shock getting those memories back had been. Loki didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand he had discovered that he had a wonderful little boy, and he had truly enjoyed his life as Lily so retrieving those memories had been wonderful. His parents had been good, caring people who had raised him with love. More than Odin had ever shown him. He had had friends, and at school he had been someone others had looked up to. On the other hand he now remembered that his beautiful child was also Thor’s child. It seemed the universe was conspiring against him.

Of course Thor just had to find him whilst he had been Lily Evans, and the two of them just had to get along. Even without his memories how could he have allowed such a thing to happen? The situation was utterly humiliating to think that he could have fallen for Thor. He didn’t have his memories at the time but how could he have found the buffoon charming? It left Loki feeling slightly sick to his stomach.

It was a double-edged sword for he loved his little boy but hated Thor with a passion, and hated the thought of sharing his son with him. For this reason he was going to make sure that no one ever found out about it. He could only imagine Thor and Odin’s horrified reactions were they ever to discover the truth. Odin would no doubt seek to take control of the boy while Thor… Loki wasn’t quite sure what Thor would do. Loki had to admit that Thor’s time on Midgard had changed the great oaf for the better. He was no longer quite so arrogant or brash. He was, however, still very much an idiot, and Loki didn’t want that idiocy affecting his son.

Loki had located Harry as soon as he was able to, and had been checking in on him as often as possible. He was well aware of Harry’s fame in the wizarding world, and what had caused it. Harry had of course survived the Killing Curse because he was an immortal. Loki as Lily had died from the curse because at the time his powers had been taken from him once his powers had been restored to him he had come back to life. Just as Thor had done after his run in with the Destroyer. If Harry hadn’t been Thor and Loki’s son his chance of survival would have vastly diminished for the children of mortals and immortals were mortals themselves. For that reason alone Loki was grateful that Harry was Thor’s son.

For the past two weeks he had simply watched over his son. As much as Loki wanted to, he didn’t dare approach his son. Not now, not while there were so many out there who were after him or wanted things from him. Once his position was secure he would came back for his son. He would take him far away from those insipid mortals, and ensure that the Dursleys were appropriately punished. But for now it would have to wait. The Other, and the Chitauri wanted him to move quickly in using the Tesseract to open a portal to allow their armies passage. Loki had managed to put them off for now, and buy himself some more time watching over his son and getting to know him.

Harry had just returned from Hogwarts for the summer. He had already gone through two years at Hogwarts, and Loki was saddened to realize that he had already missed so much of his son’s life. His Harek would be thirteen in just a month. The boy was already starting to have a more adult look to his features. When he was born he looked a great deal like Loki’s natural form with his black messy hair, and finer more aristocratic features. At the time Loki as Lily, and James weren’t certain where he had gotten the black hair from considering Thor was blonde and as Lily he had been red haired. Loki knew now of course. But at the time they were simply pleased because his dark hair served the purpose of making it more plausible that he was James’s son. The only thing that they had needed to hide was his eyes, which were a stormy blue just like Thor’s. This was easily hidden with a simple glamour charm something Lily had excelled at. Now he knew why. But now that Harry was getting older it was easier to see more of Thor in him in the shape of his jaw and brow. If you were looking for it. He was tall for his age but still slender with youth. Loki wondered absently if he would grow to have Thor’s more muscular build or Loki’s own leaner build.

Loki wanted nothing more than to approach his son. Day after day he watched as his son came to the park in the evening to simply sit alone on the swings. He knew during the day the Dursleys had him doing a ridiculous amount of chores. They treated his son worse than a slave, and it made Loki seethe with rage. He knew that Petunia had been jealous of him but he had never expected her to treat his son in such a vile manner. They would be appropriately _rewarded_ once Loki had control of Midgard.

Loki was preparing to leave for the day when Petunia’s morbidly obese offspring and his gang of loyal followers walked into the park. This was Loki’s first up close look at the massive boy. Loki had always thought of Volstagg as the largest person he knew but Dudley Dursley far surpassed him. He was nearly as wide as he was tall, and resembled a pig so strongly that Loki nearly believed he had some latent shape shifting abilities. Loki really didn’t like the look in the rotund boy’s beady eyes as he caught sight of his son alone on the swings. It was the look of a perpetual tormentor and Loki loathed the look of panic on his son’s face as his eyes darted about for an escape route. It all spoke of years of bullying.

“Hey, Potty,” Dudley greeted.

“Go away, Dudley,” Harry sighed in defeat.

“I don’t think so think, Potter. This is our playground, you need to scram before I rearrange your face,” Dudley said.

“Why? So you can smoke?” Harry taunted. Loki felt pride that his son’s will wasn’t entirely broken by these idiots.

“It’s none of your business, Freak, now get lost before I make you. I’m on the boxing team now so I can beat your skinny arse even worse now,” Dudley boasted.

“You tell ‘em Big D,” a thin rat faced boy encouraged.

Loki wanted to wipe them all from existence. It would hardly take any effort on his part. He barely managed to restrain himself.

“I’m shaking in my boots, Dudley. But I think I can take you,” Harry muttered.

“You couldn’t lay a hand on me, Potty, not without you-know-what, and dad would kill you if you did and then you’d get expelled from your freak school,” Dudley taunted.

“I think you’ve forgotten, Dudley. I grew while I was at school. I could take you in a fight now,” Harry finally stood up from his swing. He was indeed taller than the pig masquerading as a boy. From the look on the pig’s face it was a fairly recent development, and he wasn’t used to Harry being the taller of the two of them.

Dudley’s pause was only momentary. Soon the rotund boy was taking a swing at Harry’s face. Harry was prepared and easily caught Dudley’s meaty fist. Dudley’s face turned red as he exerted as much pressure as he could to try and break free of Harry’s hold. But no matter how hard he tried Harry was able to hold him as if it were nothing.

Loki frowned. Harry shouldn’t have been exhibiting signs of his physical strength just yet. Along with the glamour on his eyes James and he had discovered a way to suppress his Asgardian abilities to better hide him from those that would seek to abuse his powers. The spell should have lasted at least until he came of age. But it seemed that it was beginning to weaken now. This could be because of the fact that Harry wasn’t really half Asgardian, half human as they had believed when casting the suppressing glamour. He was half Asgardian, half Jotunn making him fully immortal. The spell must not have been strong enough to subdue all of his abilities especially with him beginning to mature. Loki panicked. Harry believed himself to be the son of Lily and James Potter, two mortal magic users. The sudden increase in strength and power would no doubt terrify and confuse his son. Harry would need some sort of guidance before he inadvertently drew attention to himself.

Harry had dropped his cousin’s hand. The larger boy glared at Harry before motioning to his cronies. They surged up to shove Harry to the ground where Dudley landed a few harsh kicks to Harry’s side. His son could have fought them off. But Harry was intelligent enough to realize that one little display of strength was more than enough for one day. Anymore and it would become suspicious. It would draw far too much attention to himself if he was capable of fighting off an entire group of boys. Loki couldn’t stand by and watch his child being harmed. He was going to break his cover. Loki may regret it later but at this moment he did not care. He wanted to smite the little fools who dared lay their hands on his little boy but he would settle for scaring them away.

“Boys, is there a problem here?” he called in a smooth dark voice that promised pain as he stepped out into the park.

The bullies all shot panicked looks at Loki, terrified at being caught in the act, before running away like the cowards they were. The fat oaf made a valiant effort to keep up with the rest. It was only Loki’s centuries worth of control that kept him from giving chase so that he could strike down the great ball of lard. Loki turned his attention back to his son. Loki had faced countless terrors yet coming face to face with his son for the first time was somehow even more terrifying.

His son was dabbing at a small cut on his wrist. Taking a chance Loki leaned down.

“Here, allow me,” with a wave of Loki’s hand the cut was gone.

Harry gaped his fingers running over his healed skin in shock. “How did you do that?”

“Let me help you up and then I can explain,” Loki asked offering his son a hand.

Harry ignored it and pulled himself to his feet. It was a sure sign that his son was used to relying on himself. Loki could certainly relate.

“How did you do that?” Harry asked again staring at him suspiciously.

Harry took a few steps back and watched Loki warily. Feeling irrationally hurt, Loki drew back his hand. A part of him knew he shouldn’t feel hurt. He was a virtual stranger to Harry. Of course he would pull away from a strange man who had just performed unfamiliar magic on him without his consent. No matter how much he rationalized it, it still hurt. He hated being a stranger to his son. Harry was truly the only thing he had in his life. The only thing that truly mattered. He certainly wanted his revenge against Odin for manipulating his life, and ruling Midgard would be a great start. But what good was revenge if he didn’t have his son?

“Magic,” Loki finally replied.

A small amount of tension left Harry. “You’re a wizard?”

“Not quite, but I am practitioner of magic,” Loki explained.

“I don’t understand. You can do magic but you’re not a wizard? And you didn’t use a wand or say a spell to heal me,” Harry frowned.

“I think you’ll find that the world is a much larger and diverse place than even the wizarding world is aware of. There are whole other worlds out there beyond the stars, entire other races capable of performing what you know as magic in ways you never thought possible, Harry,” Loki said purposely using his son’s name to force a reaction from him.

“Worlds? Wait, how do you know my name?” Harry demanded, once more on guard. Loki was proud that he had caught the slip.

“I mean you no harm. I simply would like to tell you a story, Harry. The story of Loki, God of Mischief and Magic and how he became Lily Potter,” Loki replied, steadily holding his son’s gaze.

“Is this some sort of joke? Who are you!?” Harry cried.

“I am Loki, formerly of Asgard, and once I was Lily Potter,” Loki stated calmly.

“You’re mad, is what you are,” Harry declared backing away slowly.

“Harry wait, let me explain. Your strength and speed has increased, even your senses, and durability. I can tell you why,” Loki persuaded.

Harry paused, and looked on with cautious interest. His need for answers was warring with his natural wariness of strangers.

“It is because you are my son, and I am a god. Please, just allow me to explain. Afterwards if you wish you may leave. But simply give the chance to tell you the truth,” Loki requested knowing that he had caught Harry’s attention.

“Talk,” Harry demanded.

Loki did, and for once in his life he was completely honest. The conversation lasted far longer than either of them expected, and the two of them migrated to sit on the benches. Harry had become less wary in his presence. He was still slightly on guard but he had unwillingly become engaged by Loki’s tale.

“Wow,” Harry murmured once Loki finally finished explaining everything. Harry had of course wanted to know all about the nine realms and Loki had created a magical diorama of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life to show him. He had told him all about the various races, and about Loki’s own place in it all.

“Yes, it is quite a lot to take in,” Loki agreed.

“I’m not saying I believe you about the being my mum thing. But all of the other stuff is amazing. I mean there are whole other worlds out there with all sorts of magical creatures and people. Although it really shouldn’t be all that surprising considering all of the things I’ve seen in the magical world,” Harry eyes were wide with delight.

“I can prove to you that I am… for lack of better word, your mother,” Loki said.

“How can you do that?” Harry questioned.

“There are several methods. The easiest, however, is to go straight to Gringotts to have a lineage test completed as I’m sure you would trust the results that they would give us. We can go now if you wish. I will have you back before Petunia ever notices you are gone,” Loki signaled to Barton that he could take off. He was confident that SHIELD wouldn’t sneak up on him while he was in the wizarding world.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Harry said.

“How about a more public mode of transportation?” Loki changed his clothing and Harry’s to wizarding robes, and let out a shot of his magic to call their ride.

“What did you just—” Harry was cut off by the arrival of the Knight Bus.

The door to bright purple triple-decker bus swung open for Loki and Harry to board. Loki loathed the thought of taking the Knight Bus but if it would get Harry to trust him than he was all for it.

“Welcome to the Knight Bus the only mode of emergency public transportation for stranded or displaced wizards. Just stick your wand hand out, step on broad, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. I’m Stan Shunpike and I’ll be your conductor this fine Sunday afternoon. Where to gentlemen?” asked the young wizard who greeted them jovially at the door. He wore a purple uniform, and had large ears with a face full of pimples. It was a different person from when Loki had taken the bus as Lily. The little old man who sat behind the wheel with the thick glasses, however, was still the same. Well, his glasses looked even thicker now.

“Diagon Alley,” Loki replied with forced cheerfulness.

“That’ll be eleven Sickles apiece. Unless you’d like yourself an ‘ot chocolate then it’d be firteen?” Stan offered with a grin.

Loki summoned the appropriate amount of coins and handed them to the conductor.

“‘Ot chocolate it is then, find yourselves a seat and ‘old on tight. We’ll ‘ave ya to your destination in no time,” Stan waved them in.

Loki led Harry to one of the sofa chairs, and made sure he was appropriately settled in. The chairs were sturdier than the beds they put out during the night run. Loki placed a holding spell on Harry just to be safe. He remembered just how wild a ride the Knight Bus could be. Harry was too busy looking around the interior of the bus with wide eyes so Loki accepted the cups of hot chocolates Stan offered them. Once Harry had pulled his eyes off the décor Loki handed him his cup. Harry gratefully took a gulp.

“All right, take ‘er away, Ern,” Stan called.

The older man mumbled something before the bus shot off with a loud bang. Harry gave a quiet exclamation of surprise as they were slammed back into their seats. His eyes darted out the window to see that they were already passing through busy intersections, slipping between cars, and flying along sidewalks.

“How aren’t the muggles noticing?” Harry gasped.

“I think you’ll find that mortals don’t often notice things outside their own little lives,” Loki replied trying to keep himself looking as dignified as possible while being whipped around on the Knight Bus.

“What are your names?” Stan asked conversationally.

“I’m Lucas and this is my son Evan. We’re on our way to do some shopping. But I’m afraid Evan isn’t particularly fond of apparating thus the need the Knight Bus,” Loki smiled.

“Can’t say I blame ‘im. Never passed my own test. It’s a pretty awful way to get about,” Stan said just as they took a jolting turn that caused some of Harry’s hot chocolate to spill.

“Are you all right?” Loki asked in concern.

“Fine,” Harry assured him.

“I think it’d be safer to finish that until after we arrive safely at our destination,” Loki took the hot chocolate from him to prevent further chances of being burned.

Harry shot him an odd look. Belatedly Loki realized he sounded like an overprotective mother hen especially considering his son was an immortal. A bit of hot chocolate wasn’t going to kill him. Nevertheless Loki found himself holding the cups faraway from his son. Thankfully no one was there to witness his worrisome behavior.

Loki was thankful when they finally arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. He’d had enough of the Knight Bus and hoped that he never had to ride on it again. Loki led the way into the Leaky Cauldron. He cut through the crowd quickly. Loki didn’t want to take the chance of anyone recognizing Harry. For this reason he also employed a repelling charm as well as quick movements. The two of them arrived at Gringotts completely unimpeded.

Upon entering Gringotts Loki went straight to the teller and asked to see Ragnok. The goblin frowned at the demanding request until he sensed Loki’s power. Goblins were intelligent creatures, and knew of the other realms. They also had a sixth sense for recognizing the powerful and wealthy so of course the creature recognized that there was something more to Loki.

The goblin teller brought them to a private office to meet with the head goblin of the bank, Ragnok.

“Prince Loki or shall I call you Mrs. Potter?” Ragnok questioned his shrewd beady eyes fixed on Loki.

“Loki will be fine,” he said giving the goblin a tight smile. Loki wondered just how the little beast had figured it out. He had given a sample of his blood when he had married James so that he would have complete access to the Potter vaults. Although, he had been stripped of his powers at the time it did not change his blood. He was still a Jotunn at his core, and the goblins must have known the truth all along.

“What brings you to Gringotts, Loki, and… guest?” the goblin looked between the two of them, amusement in its dark eyes.

“A genealogy test,” Loki replied.

“A genealogy test for you and Mr….”

“Potter,” Harry answered.

“Harek Potter, so nice to finally meet you,” Ragnok’s gaze swept over Harry in an assessing manner. Harry squirmed uncomfortably. Loki fought the urge to shield him from the goblin’s gaze.

“Yes, well, we would like this to be cleared up as soon as possible. So if you would be so kind,” Loki requested returning the goblin’s attention to himself.

“Would you like a complete genealogy test for Mr. Potter or are you looking for just a paternity—I apologize— maternity test?” questioned Ragnok.

“Careful, goblin, you are testing my patience,” Loki warned in a low dangerous voice.

The goblin looked slightly contrite. The creature recognized the power Loki wielded and that Loki could destroy him if he so chose, “My apologies Prince Loki.”

Loki nodded his acceptance of the apology and glanced at Harry to see if he had an opinion on the type of test he wanted to take. Loki wasn’t too keen on the idea of the complete test. He didn’t want Harry to find out about Thor. The look on Harry’s face was one of confusion, and uncertainty. This was a lot for Harry to take in all at once. Loki’s presence was very sudden, and he was bringing up information that was quite unbelievable and unreal. Ragnok had also addressed him as Mrs. Potter that had to throw some doubt into his beliefs.

“What’s the difference between the two?” Harry asked.

“A complete genealogy test would provide you with a list of your genetic ancestors for the past ten generations. While the paternity test would be to determine a familial connection between two people,” Ragnok informed him promptly.

“Can you do both of them?” Ragnok nodded. “What do I have to do?”

Loki was feeling a little panicked. He didn’t want Harry to know the truth about his father. But if he stopped him from taking the test he wanted to take then he would undoubtedly think he was hiding something, which he was. However, knowing the truth about his origins would just complicate matters. Then again, Harry would need to know eventually. Perhaps just getting everything all out in the open at once would be preferable. He didn’t want to lie about Harry’s origins as Odin had lied to him. It would only cause mistrust and hatred to build between the two of them.

“A drop of your blood, Mr. Potter, on the parchment is all that is required to complete the genealogy test. It can take a couple of minutes to complete so it is best if you do that first. And a drop of blood from both of you in this bowl will sufficiently complete the paternity test. If the blood in the bowl turns black there is no connection. If it turns white there is a close familial connection specifically that of a parent and child,” Ragnok handed both Harry and Loki thin golden knives with ornate symbols. He placed a piece of the specially crafted, goblin made parchment and a glass bowl in front of both of them.

Harry gently pricked his finger, and allowed a drop of blood to fall on the parchment and then a drop into the bowl. Loki placed a drop of his own blood into the bowl. They all watched with baited breath as the blood in the bowl swirled together to become a pure snow white.

“It’s all true. You really are one of my parents,” Harry breathed in shocked awe.

“Yes, I was once Lily Potter. I’m your mother,” Loki smiled encouragingly, enjoying the cautious look of happiness on Harry’s face.

“I don’t know what to think about this. My mum is alive and she’s…I mean you are a _god_. That means I’m half god. I guess it explains a lot of what’s been happening to me,” Harry muttered.

“Well, you’re not—”

“The second test has just completed itself,” Ragnok inserted motioning to the parchment.

Both of their gazes instantly locked on to the parchment. Loki easily located Harry’s name down on the bottom of the parchment. From there it was simple to follow the lines that branched off from it to the two names that sat directly above it. He knew when Harry had done the same for the boy gave a slight gasp of denial, and abruptly sat back in his chair. All of the blood drained from his face and his gaze darted to Loki’s.

“Is this true?” Harry questioned desperately.

“Yes,” Loki replied simply.

“Payment?” Ragnok reminded.

Loki flashed a dark glare at the goblin and dropped the appropriate amount of coins onto the desk.

The clever little creature grinned as he snatched them up. “It was a pleasure doing business with a Prince of Asgard.”

“I’m sure. Good day,” Loki nodded curtly and climbed to his feet.

Loki guided the stunned Harry from the bank. The dazed boy still clutched the parchment in his hand, and Loki carefully removed it from his grip lest anyone else catch sight of what was written on it. Loki moved them quickly down Diagon Alley. He wanted to get Harry to a place where the two of them could speak in private. The revelation had caused Harry to slip into a state of shock, and Loki wanted a quiet place to calm him down and explain everything. Knowing he would find no such place in the alley Loki decided to bring them both back to the empty park. Harry was in no position to argue making it easier to teleport them both.

“Harry,” Loki gently touched his shoulder. The boy didn’t respond. Loki placed both hands on his shoulders and turned Harry to face him.

“Neither of my parents are who I thought they were,” Harry still refused to look directly at him but at least he had finally spoken.

“No, they’re not but this doesn’t change who you are. You’re still the same Harry you were when you woke up this morning. I know how challenging this can be. You are not who believed yourself to be. Your heritage is not what you thought. I myself went through such a revelation when I discovered Odin and Frigga were not my parents. I have come to realize since then that my blood does not change who I am. However, I care for you a great deal and wish to be a part of your life. I never would have kept my true identity from you if the choice had been mine. But unfortunately it wasn’t. For twenty years I was unaware of who I truly was, and as I explained it has only been recently that I regained my memories of my time as Lily. I came for you as soon as I remembered. I wish I had been given the chance to raise you,” Loki pleaded.

“I understand that you’re my mother, well as much as anyone can understand that their mum is really a Norse God who got turned into a woman by their adopted father as a very strange and severe punishment. What I don’t understand is that my father isn’t James. It says on my family tree that my parents are Loki Laufeyson and Thor Odinson. You are Loki, you were Lily but now you’re back to being your true self. You are my mum and no one knew that you were a Norse God in disguise, not even you, so that makes sense. But why is my father listed as Thor Odinson when everyone believes that James Potter is my father?” Harry stared at Loki accusingly.

“It’s not what you think. Yes, Thor is your father but James was well aware of that fact. James and I were not in a relationship at the time I met Thor. However, after Thor returned to Asgard, and I realized I was pregnant James come to me offering me a place to stay. I never intended to rekindle our relationship that wouldn’t have been fair to him when I was carrying another man’s child. But James didn’t care; he was kind, and understanding. He wanted to be your father, and I cared for him. We decided to get married, and raise you together. James and I knew Thor was an Asgardian. We thought you would be a demi-god because at the time I believed myself to be a mortal witch. If the Death Eaters discovered you they would have certainly come after you. Wizards revere Asgardians even though only the older families still hold to the belief that we exist. They would have wanted to take and raise you to accept their own ideals. We wanted to protect you from that in any way that we could, and so James proclaimed that you were his biological son. No one knew any differently, only his best friend and your godfather knew the truth,” Loki explained softly. He regretted Sirius’s fate. Once he had completed his mission he would get Sirius out of Azkaban.

“So Thor is from Asgard, too?”

Loki nodded. Harry’s brow was creased with a slight frown.

“He’s the God of Thunder, right? He’s a prince, and the goblin called you a prince. Wait… aren’t you brothers?” the blood had once more drained from Harry’s face and he looked truly distressed.

“No, we’re not,” Loki insisted pulling out the parchment with Harry’s genealogy on it. “Remember what I told you? Odin and his wife Frigga adopted me. Thor is their biological child as you can see on your family tree. My biological parents are Jotunns. My father Laufey was their king and my mother is Farbauti. Thor and I share no blood so you need not worry.”

“But you were raised together,” Harry pointed out.

“Yes, we were. But at the time of your conception we were unaware of one another’s identities. I did not have my memories of my past, and Thor was unaware that I had been turned into a woman. If we had been aware then I assure you, you would have never have been born. It was truly happenstance that Thor and I would end up finding one another. Perhaps it was the norns that arranged our meeting, ensuring that you were born. Mayhaps you have a great destiny ahead of you,” Loki cajoled.

“Just what I need.” Harry shrugged, and looked away.

“I know this is a lot for you to take in. It is a very strange situation. I admit even I have trouble wrapping my mind around it. It is almost too fantastical to contemplate.”

“I’m not human,” Harry said with sudden realization. “I’m not even half human.”

“And that is the reason you are growing stronger and faster. James and I placed a glamour on you that changed the color of your eyes and suppressed your Asgardian abilities to better hide you from Voldemort’s followers. But of course we did realize that you were not just half Asgardian. You are half Asgardian, half Jotunn. It is for this reason that I believe the glamour is breaking down quicker than it should have, and you are gaining the strength and power of an immortal. You immortality is the reason you survived the Killing Curse. The children of mortals and the Aesir are mortal as well and therefore you should have never survived it.”

“What color are my eyes?” Harry wanted to know. Loki knew how distressing it could be to wake up and discover that the image you looked at in the mirror everyday was not your true appearance.

“Your eyes are the same as Thor’s own stormy blue-gray,” Loki replied.

“What’s he like? Thor?” Harry asked tentatively.

Loki couldn’t blame Harry for being curious about his father. It didn’t mean that Loki wanted to talk about him. However, Loki wouldn’t speak ill of Thor in front of Harry. No matter how much he hated Thor at the moment he wouldn’t color Harry’s opinion of him. It wouldn’t be fair to his son. At the moment Harry was timidly pleased to discover that both his parents were really alive. Loki didn’t want to crush him by revealing just how poor his and Thor’s relationship was. He didn’t want Harry thinking poorly of himself.

“He is very brave, and at times brash. Thor has a good heart. He cares for others, and is very determined to protect the ones he cares for,” Loki made sure to hide away any trace of his discomfort at saying such kind things about Thor.

Harry was silent as he mulled over Loki’s words.

“So you’re both princes?” Harry asked looking a little unnerved.

“Yes, Odin is the King of Asgard. Thor as his only biological child is heir. Laufey was King of Jotunheim but he is dead. His oldest son Helblindi is his rightful heir so I hold no claim to either throne,” Loki said disparagingly.

“I don’t have any claim to the throne of Asgard, do I?” Harry asked nervously.

Loki couldn’t help but note the differences between them. Harry looked utterly terrified about the prospect of being in line for the throne while Loki wanted nothing more than his chance to rule, to prove himself to Odin that he was capable of ruling. But Loki had been raised expecting that one day he might rule. Harry had never even entertained the possibility that he might have a claim to the throne.

“You were born out of wedlock. The only way you would come into the direct line of succession is if Thor were to acknowledge you and proclaim you his heir,” Loki explained. There was a very large possibility of this happening considering Thor’s infatuation with the mortal woman Jane. The two of them would only ever have mortal children, and a mortal could never take the throne of Asgard. Loki’s son would be the only one left to inherit.

“Do you think he would? Claim me, if he knew about me?” Harry questioned. Loki understood what he was really asking.

“Thor would be pleased to have a son. Once he got over the shock of it all he would be proud to claim you as his child and heir,” Loki assured Harry and it was the truth. Thor would love Harry even if Loki was his mother.

“So he wouldn’t mind?” Harry persisted. His eyes were carefully averted, attempting to appear as if he didn’t care what the answer would be. Loki knew differently. He knew how important it was to boys to make their fathers’ proud.

“No, he would delight in having a son to teach and share things with. He is very much still a child himself so I’m sure you would enjoy your time spent together,” Loki said already envious of imagined bonding moments between Thor and Harry. He could see Thor dragging Harry off on quests and endangering his life without realizing that he was in fact endangering his life. The man had never been around children and wouldn’t understand that he couldn’t haul his young son off to fight dragons in Vanaheim.

“Right, so what happens now?” Harry was looking around the park, taking note of his surroundings for the first time.

“I have some things that I need to take care of. It shouldn’t take long and I will try my best to visit in between. But afterwards I would like you to come live with me. We can be a family,” Loki hoped he was hiding just how much he truly wanted that.

A cautious look of hope entered Harry’s eyes. His son was as desperate as he was to have a real family.

“I don’t want to leave you with Petunia and her husband but unfortunately I have no other choice at the moment. You are treated well besides the obvious fact that they are horrible, loathsome people to live with?” Loki questioned.

“It’s nothing I’m not used to,” Harry shrugged.

“That does not give me confidence in your treatment,” Loki frowned. He’d already risked a great deal revealing himself to Harry, and he couldn’t imagine taking him with him at this time. The Other and SHIELD would discover him, and seek to use him against Loki. But if Harry wasn’t safe with the Dursleys then he would try and make other arrangements for him. If worse came to worse he would reveal himself to them and threaten them with his wrath.

“They’re fine. They leave me alone as long as I leave them alone,” Harry replied. “Well, Dudley’s annoying.” 

“I myself was teased as a child. There’s nothing better than putting a bully in their place,” Loki commented.

“Yeah, true. But Dudley isn’t worth it.”

“You must never let them see how much you hurt,” Loki said firmly.

“I know and it doesn’t bother me anymore,” Harry told him and Loki believed him. His son was strong, and forgiving in a way that Loki never would be. “I really have to head back. It’s gotten late and even the Dursleys will be wondering where I am by now. But will I see you again?”

“Of course, I will be back, Harry. I am so glad to have gotten the chance to speak with you, and to reveal the truth to you. I want nothing more than to spend more time with you,” Loki assured.

“Right, well, bye for now then,” Harry smiled

“Till next me meet,” Loki smiled back.

Harry turned to leave. Loki’s eyes followed him until he made it safely home. Loki wished for nothing more than to take his child with him. After being separated for so long it was painful to just let him walk out of his life again. He would be having words with Dumbledore about his son’s placement as soon as he’d finished taking over the world.


	3. Between the Saltwater and the Sea Strand

A month had come and gone since Harry had found out the truth of his origins. It was still taking quite a bit of time for the knowledge to properly settle in his brain. Loki had come to see him at least twice a week since their initial meeting. Each time had been surprisingly wonderful. Their conversations flowed easily between the two of them, and Harry found himself telling Loki all about his life. It was nice to have someone who was interested, who listened to him without judgment just concern. Loki in turn told him about his life as Lily Potter, and a few stories from his life in Asgard. Harry had questioned him a few times about what he was doing on Earth, and long it would be until Harry could come and live with him but Loki somehow always managed to steer the conversation onto another topic.

However, Harry was willing to overlook his avoidance. He was simply glad for the chance to get to know his mother, and yes as strange as it sounded Harry found himself thinking of the god as his mother. Loki had ensured him that he was more than welcome to think of Loki as his mother. It was who he was after all. The god was a shape shifter and though he spent most of his time as a male he still spent some of his time as a female, and Harry referring to him as his mother didn’t bother him in the slightest. Loki had other children and was in fact the mother of another child. Harry’s half brother Sleipnir was an eight-legged horse, and Odin’s stead. It was strange to think that he had a brother out there, and even stranger to think that he was a horse. A very smart and magical horse but a horse nonetheless. Loki had told him a little bit about his other siblings as well, and even hinted that they he would take Harry to meet one of them soon. All in all Loki was a surprisingly adept and concerned parent.

It was hard not to think of Loki as such when the god was so nurturing and caring towards him. It was an affection that Harry had always craved for himself. All of his life he had seen the way Petunia had treated Dudley, and at times it was nauseating to witness while other times left him feeling hollow. Harry had craved having someone there to comfort him after his own nightmares or soothe his scraped knees. Loki wasn’t nearly as bad as Petunia in the overly affectionate department. His gentle concern and encouragement was more than Harry had ever hoped for, and Harry basked in every bit of his attention. It was like a dream come true for Harry. He had his mother back. She wasn’t quite a she or a human. But he was still the same person who had given birth to him, the same person who had been willing to sacrifice his life for Harry.

Harry even had a father somewhere out there. Loki had, somewhat reluctantly, said that after he had completed his task he would find a way for Harry to meet Thor. If he was so inclined. Harry found himself wanting to meet Thor. But he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do it anytime soon. He wanted to take the time and get to know his mother a little better first before taking the leap in meeting his father. No matter how many times Loki assured him Harry wasn’t certain that Thor would be happy about having an unknown son. The matter would be further complicated when Thor discovered that his child was also the child of his adopted brother he had unknowingly engaged in a relationship. It was certainly going to be a very awkward family reunion.

For now Harry was more than happy to just keep things between Loki and himself. It was simpler that way. Loki seemed more than a little relieved when Harry had told him this. He had to have been just as reluctant to confront his brother with the truth. Harry could only imagine how uncomfortable their interactions would be once the truth came out.

As it was, Harry and Loki were enjoying the chance to get to know one another. Over the past month Loki had been teaching him how to control his Asgardian magic. It was very different from magic done with wands. Loki had assured him that even though Harry was not a wizard he would still be able to perform the magic of wizards, after all wizards had inherited their magic from Asgardians. But now that the truth of his origins was out Harry would be capable of learning magic that was far beyond skills of the average witch or wizard. Harry excelled at these lessons. The magic Loki taught him came to him so much more naturally than anything he had learned so far in Hogwarts. It was even better that this form of magic was undetectable by the Ministry of Magic so he was able to do magic to his heart’s content. It was a huge help in getting the Dursleys to leave him alone.

Today, a month after their first meeting, it was Harry’s thirteenth birthday. He had received a bunch of letters and parcels from his friends, which he had eagerly gone through. Of course the Dursleys didn’t even acknowledge it, and left the house to go off to do whatever it was they normally did. This suited Harry because he much rather preferred having the house to himself on his birthday even if it meant he still had to do his chores. However, Harry was shocked to suddenly find Loki in the living room looking at the pictures on the wall.

“Loki?” Harry exclaimed in surprise.

The god looked exhausted with deep, dark circles under his eyes. A large smile spread across his face the moment he saw Harry chasing away some of the worn look to his features.

“Happy Birthday Harry,” Loki greeted with a large smile.

Harry flushed and he couldn’t help but smile back. He wasn’t used to anyone wishing him a happy birthday. Hagrid had actually been the first person to ever do so.

“Thank you. But what are you doing here?” Harry couldn’t help but be surprised that Loki had appeared in the middle of the Dursley’s living room.

“I have a wonderful birthday lunch prepared for the two of us,” Loki informed him a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Harry felt excitement surge through him. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Loki grinned a familiar mischievous glint in his emerald eyes.

Before Harry could beg Loki to tell him the god had stepped forward and pulled him close so that he could teleport the two of them.

In the next instance Harry and Loki were standing on a large cliff face over looking the ocean. Harry gasped as he looked out over the crashing waves, and stared down at the jagged rocks littered in the water. The sun was bright and glittering across the dark water.

“Why did you bring us here?” Harry questioned. It was a beautiful spot but there had to be a greater significance to it for Loki to bring them here.

“Someone else wanted to celebrate your birthday,” Loki teased with a huge smile.

Harry frowned and was about to ask just who else Loki could have invited to have lunch with them. Before he could the ocean began to churn. For a moment Harry thought that maybe it was an oncoming storm. But there weren’t any storm clouds. Besides something was beginning to rise from the water. Harry’s jaw dropped open as a massive serpentine head rose from the waves. The long tapered muzzle was full of long sharp teeth, and its head was crowned with spiked ridges. Smaller curved spikes continued their way down the goliath creature’s spine. The gargantuan serpent’s scales were a surprisingly beautiful mix of reds, oranges, browns, and gold, and it glittered like fire in the sunlight. Its massive eyes, which contained a slit pupil, were a familiar shade of emerald green. Harry had thought the fifty-foot basilisk was the biggest snake he would ever have the misfortune to come across but this sea serpent easily dwarfed the basilisk. It was like comparing a worm to a boa constrictor.

“Harek allow me to introduce you to your elder brother, Jormungandr. Jor meet you little brother Harry,” Loki introduced with a pleased smile as the serpent came to rest its massive head on the edge of the cliff.

“Hello little brother,” the serpent, Jormungandr, greeted in a surprisingly soft, silky voice that was quite similar to Loki’s own. “Father hasn’t been able to stop talking about you since he got his memories back. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“You too,” Harry managed to squeak out utterly stunned and more than a little intimidated in the face of the massive sea snake and said snake’s mouthful of razor sharp teeth.

Jormungandr laughed, causing the earth to shake a little bit. “You have nothing to fear from me, little brother. We are both the sons of Loki, and therefore we share a close bond. We must because we are hated and feared by all others. No one else will look out for us so we must look after one another.”

“Jormungandr,” Loki frowned.

“I only speak the truth, father. Harek will need to hear it eventually. Asgard fears us because we are monsters in their eyes, and the children of Loki were prophesized to bring about Ragnarok,” Jormungandr replied shifting in the water and causing massive waves to surge up.

“Ragnarok?” Harry questioned.

“The end of all things, little brother, or an apocalypse type of thing if you will, it is a more well known term. Odin feared so much that he had us hunted down and imprisoned. He tossed me into Midgard’s oceans and bound me to them. I cannot leave the water unless I leave my magic behind. Of course I made out better than Fenris who was chained to a rock for all eternity. At least I have the freedom of the ocean. Hela was cast into Helheim but she rules there and has acquired quite a bit of power for herself. Then Sleipnir has been reduced to nothing more than Odin’s steed. Yes, the children of Loki are destined to suffer horrible fates,” Jormungandr spat with obvious hatred.

“Let us speak of more pleasant things, shall we? It is Harry’s birthday after all,” Loki sent a reproving look Jormungandr’s way. Harry could see the sorrow in Loki’s at the mention of his other children’s fate.

Surprisingly the giant serpent looked appropriately chastised by Loki’s stern words. “I do not mean to spoil your birthday by speaking of such things, Harry. But sometimes I cannot help but be bitter by our fate especially when we did nothing to deserve such imprisonment except for being born differently.”

“It’s all right, I understand. It’s got to be pretty awful being locked away. Besides I’d like to know more about you and my other siblings,” Harry really did understand about being locked away. Maybe not to the extent that Jormungandr or Fenris were but he had been kept in a cupboard under the stairs for nearly ten years of his life.

“Well, that is something we can speak of. Although, I have not seen my other siblings in several centuries I can tell you what I remember of our childhood,” Jormungandr offered.

Harry had done some reading on Norse myths after finding out about Loki. But Loki had told him that most of what the myths said were inaccurate so he hadn’t paid that close attention to them. When Loki said that he had siblings Harry had assumed that the myths about his siblings being giant monsters were one of those things that the myths had gotten wrong. After all it just seemed too fantastical to contemplate that his siblings were a giant snake, a giant wolf, an eight-legged horse, and the goddess of the dead. But it looked like the myths were right as Jormungandr began to tell him about their other siblings.

Fenris, Jormungandr, and Hela all shared the same mother. She had been a sorceress giantess by the name of Angrboda. She had passed away during Hela’s birth leaving Loki to raise their three young children. However, Loki had not been allowed to raise them for long. After a prophecy was made where Loki’s children would be responsible for starting Ragnarok they were hunted down and imprisoned. Loki hadn’t been able to stop it. Harry couldn’t help but feel sorry for his older siblings. They had been young when they had been hunted, and they had barely gotten a chance to live.

“It seems my children are fated to have their lives disrupted by prophecies,” said Loki angrily.

“Was a prophecy made for Harry, too?” Jormungandr questioned.

“Yes.”

“What? There was a prophecy about me?” Harry gasped not expecting the answer.

“It was a Midgardian prophecy. So I am uncertain to just how true its words are, and the prophecy never mentioned you specifically. However, at the time James and I had no choice but to take the prophecy seriously especially since Voldemort believed the prophecy to be true.”

“The prophecy was about Voldemort? Is that why he came after us?” Harry demanded in shock.

“It was. The prophecy stated that a child would be born at the end of July to parents who had thrice defied him, and that child would be the one to defeat him. There was nothing more that Voldemort valued than his own life. So he acted quickly to remove the threat against his life. Voldemort came to the conclusion that there were only two children who fit this description yourself and Neville Longbottom. Both of our families went into hiding. But for whatever reason Voldemort chose to come after us that night,” Loki explained.

“But James Potter isn’t my biological father so does that mean I’m not really the one the prophecy spoke of?” Harry questioned.

“That is one of the reasons that I don’t believe the prophecy to be a true one. You don’t really fit the requirements of the prophecy because of your paternity but neither does Neville Longbottom simply for the fact that the prophecy stated ‘the dark lord would mark him as his equal’. So unless Voldemort suddenly marks Neville. I don’t see how the prophecy could possibly be true.”

“I think all prophecies are a load of shit. After all I’m supposed to devour Thor and destroy Midgard. Thor may not be my favorite person but I honestly can’t see myself wanting to eat him, and I rather like Midgard after all of the years I’ve spent here. Fenris eating Odin is a little might be true considering he’s the one who imprisoned us,” Jormungandr stated dryly.

“I have to agree with you, Jor, about the prophecies. From now on we will ignore all prophecies. We will not allow them to dictate our lives. Agreed?” Loki smiled.

Jormungandr and Harry both agreed. Although, Harry had more questions for Loki about exactly what happened with the Voldemort. Harry deserved to know more about the man who had already tried to do away with him three times. But it was his birthday and he was spending the day with his mother and his brother, and Harry didn’t want to think about Voldemort anymore than he had to. Loki and he had already had a long conversation about Voldemort, and his continued existence. Loki was slightly perplexed on how the dark wizard was still alive. He had been enraged to discover that the man had come after Harry again, and then intrigued when recounted the tale about the diary Riddle. He’d gotten a calculating look in his eyes, and refused to say any more about the subject no matter how much Harry pestered him. Loki insisted that he would tell Harry about his idea once he had concrete proof. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to get that proof until after he finished task he was currently working on.

While Loki momentarily disappeared to grab Harry’s presents, Jormungandr started to tell him some more stories about Fenris and Hela. However, it was a bit awkward to continue speaking because Harry had to constantly tilt his head back.

“Here, I will come on land so we can speak better with one another,” Jormungandr offered.

“You can come on land? I thought that you were imprisoned in the water,” Harry asked in surprise.

“I can leave the ocean but I have to leave my magic behind. I would be forced to take my weaker form since it is my shape shifting powers that sustains this form,” Jormungandr replied.

“Wait, so you aren’t really a giant snake?” Harry asked in confusion.

“Of course not. We are all just gifted with a strong shape shifting ability. Unlike Father, however, Fenris and I are only capable of shifting into one alternate form. But because of the strength of our power our other forms are powerful and gigantic,” Jormungandr explained.

“So you can leave the ocean whenever you want?” Jormungandr nodded. “So why don’t you?”

“I like my magic. It is a part of who I am. It is very unpleasant to have it stripped from me even it does allow me a bit of freedom to travel across Midgard,” Jormungandr replied. 

“I suppose I didn’t think of it like that,” Harry murmured. “I wouldn’t like to have my magic stripped from me either. It’s a part of who I am.”

Magic had been the reason he’d gotten away from the Dursleys. It was a part of who he was, and being suddenly stripped of it would be horrible.

“Yes, but at least I still have my physical strength when out of the water. So I’m not completely helpless if I have to go on land,” Jormungandr said flashing a toothy grin.

Harry shuddered and was very thankful that Jormungandr was his brother. Meeting the world serpent in any other context would definitely be terrifying. Jormungandr then proceeded to shock Harry further by shifting into a human form. Watching his massive shape fold itself into the tall lanky form of a young man was very disconcerting. Harry could only stare at his brother’s human form in utter amazement unable to process that he was the same being as the giant sea serpent. Jormungandr had fiery, dark red wavy hair that was actually very similar in color to Loki’s when he had been Lily. His skin was the same pale cream as Loki’s but while Loki’s skin was flawless Jormungandr bore a scattering of golden brown freckles across his face and arms. Nowhere near to the extent a Weasley of course, but there were enough to notice. Jormungandr’s eyes were the same deep emerald as before but lacked his slit pupil. He looked similar in appearance to Loki but he had a longer face, fuller lips and a longer nose. He was also a little taller than Loki with a thinner, leaner build.

A huge, mischievous grin flashed over Jormungandr’s features as Harry continued to gape at him.

“What do you think of my human form, little brother?” Jormungandr threw his long arms out to the side, and did a little twirl.

“We sort of look alike, well except our hair and eye color,” Harry offered. In all honesty Jormungandr sort of reminded him of the Weasley twins. They had the same devious glint in their eyes as if they were about to cause trouble at any moment.

“Yes, there is no denying our parentage. Although, I believe your other parent is making himself known in your features,” Jormungandr said knowingly.

“I look like Thor?” Harry questioned timidly.

Jormungandr flashed a small indulgent smile. “You do share several similar features with him.”

“It’s strange to think that I have two fathers,” Harry admitted.

“No stranger than having a horse for a father,” Jormungandr snorted.

Harry’s nose wrinkled, and Jormungandr laughed at his expression of discomfort.

“I don’t want to think about any of our conceptions,” Harry stated firmly.

Jormungandr just continued to chuckle at Harry’s expense. “Oh little brother. Still so young and innocent. When you’ve lived for a few centuries everything will stop phasing you.”

“Centuries,” Harry murmured. “I don’t think I’ve really accepted that I’m going to live for centuries.”

“Even longer than that,” Jormungandr said, a look of gentle understanding in his eyes.

“I’m going to outlive everyone I know. Everyone at Hogwarts,” Harry whispered.

“Oh Harry, it seems I keep bringing up dark subjects on your birthday. I do not want you to dwell on such thoughts. You will have to come to term with them eventually. Such is our fate as immortals. My time on Midgard has made me well aware of these facts. But never forget that we will always be here for you.”

Jormungandr then threw his arms around Harry and swung him around in a tight hug. Surprised, Harry gave a laugh causing Jormungandr to spin him around some more. It was hard to brood about how he was going to outlast all of his friends when his older brother was spinning him around so fast it was making his head spin.

“Now, how would you like to learn a little trick that you can play on Father, hmm?” Jormungandr asked with a sly grin as he finally set a slightly dizzy Harry back on his feet.

Harry gave him an eager grin, and leaned in closer. Ron was constantly complaining about having older brothers but Harry was thrilled to have met Jormungandr, and that he seemed to be as eager as he was to have a relationship with him.

Jormungandr gave him a whole list of pranks that he could pull on Loki, and ones that he could pull when he went back to Hogwarts. Harry was normally too busy to think about pranks but Jormungandr insisted that he uphold his trickster heritage, and at least pull one pranks in the coming school year. He then turned to telling Harry stories about their other siblings. Narfi and Vali were the twin sons of Loki’s ex-wife Sigyn. Narfi and Vali suffered an unfortunate accident while they were young. Jormungandr wasn’t sure exactly what had happened because by that time he had already been thrown into the ocean, and Loki, who was his only source of information on Asgard, refused to talk about it. Either way Narfi and Vali perished, and that started all of rumors in Asgard about Loki’s children being cursed because of his own misdeeds. Sigyn ended up separating herself from Loki in her grief over their children’s deaths, and Loki had sworn to never have any more children. He had kept his promise to himself until he had been punished and lost his memories, and unknowingly had Harry.

Their conversation about their other siblings had been cut short when Loki returned bearing Harry’s birthday presents and a birthday cake. The three of them relaxed in the rock chairs Loki transfigured to eat their slices. Jormungandr then proceeded to quickly eat the rest of the cake when Loki’s back was turned. Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the glare Loki shot at Jormungandr when he realized what had happened. Who knew giant snakes liked cake?

After cake Loki brought Harry’s attention back to the presents he had brought with him. Harry was shocked and pleased by the gifts that Loki had presented him with. Loki had gotten him several new outfits that he could wear in place of Dudley’s castoffs, a book on Asgardian history and culture, a beautiful dagger that Loki promised to teach him how to use, and finally a woven leather bracelet with a jade stone set in it. The bracelet held several protections in it, and as long as Harry wore it Loki would be alerted to when Harry was in danger.

“I have given you the wristband because I am uncertain when the next time I will be able to visit you will be. I am nearly finished with my task, and soon we will be able to be a family once more,” Loki informed him as he helped Harry tie the bracelet securely to his wrist with a little bit of magic. “The wristband will also allow you to contact Jormungandr in the case of emergency.”

“And I’ll come running as fast as I can. It might be a little slow considering I won’t have my magic. But I’ll do my best,” Jormungandr swore.

Soon after that Loki and Harry said their goodbyes to Jormungandr with promises to visit again as soon as Loki had finished with his task. Apparently Loki’s task would not only free Harry from the Dursleys but his plans also included breaking the enchantment that kept Jormungandr locked away in the sea. It would also see their other siblings freed. Jormungandr was practically giddy at the thought of being reunited with his other siblings. Harry also couldn’t help but look forward to the thought of having his other siblings free, and getting the chance to meet them face to face. He and Jormungandr had gotten along really well. Harry couldn’t wait to see what his other siblings were like.

Two weeks had passed since Harry’s birthday. Two weeks without hearing anything from Loki, and he couldn’t help but be worried about him. Loki hadn’t looked good. He had tried to hide it from him but Harry had seen the dark circles under his eyes and his increasingly pale complexion was definitely not good. Harry knew Loki was as close to immortal as one could get but he had looked sick. It made Harry wonder what was possibly powerful enough to make him so weak.

What made matters worse was that Vernon’s sister Marge had come to stay with them. She was a truly awful woman who bred bulldogs. She had brought her prized dog, Ripper with her. Harry hated Ripper and Ripper hated him. The beastly dog used to bite and chase Harry when he was younger, much to the encouragement of the Dursleys. Now, however, Ripper wouldn’t even come near him anymore. Not after his first attempt at biting him. The dog had bitten into Harry’s ankle as soon as he came through the door but had yelped when he nearly broke off a tooth against Harry’s much tougher skin. It was a huge contrast to even a month and half prior when Harry had cut his hand when Dudley and his friends had attacked him in the park.

It was proof that he was changing, and growing stronger by the day. It was nice to have gotten stronger but it was a constant reminder to Harry that he wasn’t human. Loki had explained that the glamour would probably break down completely by the end of the summer, and that his Asgardian blood would be coming into full effect. Soon he would possess the full powers he had always been meant to have. It was so strange for Harry to contemplate. A part of him recognized that both of his parents were gods. It was so much stranger to think of himself in the same context. He was just Harry well Harek technically. But the Dursleys had always insisted to anyone who would listen that his name was Harry. Harek was far too abnormal for the Dursleys to handle. It was so hard to imagine that he was nearly immortal, and that he was, for all intents and purposes, a god too. Harry wasn’t sure if he would ever come to truly see himself in such a manner. Well, at least it meant that he didn’t share any blood with the Dursleys.

Harry had kept himself mostly out of the way during Marge’s visit. It was made easier with the Dursley’s newly discovered wariness of him. Harry had performed a few tricks that Loki had taught him to get them to leave him completely alone. Since then they had left Harry to his own devices, not making him do any chores or anything. However, one morning when he ventured down to get breakfast he found the Dursleys all sitting around the tellie. It wasn’t an uncommon sight to see them all around it so Harry continued into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. It was only when he was heading back up to his room to eat that he realized something was wrong.

“Just what is this world coming to?” Vernon demanded in an angry voice. “We’ve got all kinds of freaks flying around, and now there are even aliens attacking us.”

That caught Harry’s attention; it was just too crazy a statement for him not to find out what they were going on about. “Did you just say aliens?”

The Dursleys, save Dudley whose gaze stayed locked on the tellie, all looked over at him as he stepped into the living room.

“Where have you been, boy? Lazing about no doubt while the world’s been attacked by aliens,” Vernon barked.

“The world’s gone utterly mad,” Marge agreed as she took a swig from her glass of wine. No one even bothered to stop her even though it was still morning.

“Aliens?” Harry questioned.

Before meeting Loki that statement might have had him laughing at the absurdity of it, and believing that the Dursleys had finally lost it. But Loki had told him all about the Nine Realms and how there were even worlds beyond that. He knew because he had seen them, and he had promised to show them to Harry some day. The universe was a huge place with all sorts of different people and creatures out there. Harry should know considering his mother was actually the God of Mischief, and he’d met his brother the giant sea serpent. Harry just didn’t think aliens would ever come to Earth.

“Yes, now shut up and watch at the tellie if you want to learn something. The rest of us would like to know what happened,” Petunia snapped.

Silently all of their gazes returned to the news broadcast. Harry gaped in amazement at what they were reporting. Yesterday aliens had attacked New York City, leveling nearly half of it. A portal had been opened on the roof of Stark Tower, and an alien army had poured through into. A group of extraordinary people had worked together to stop these invaders and in the end they had been successful. The aliens had been destroyed and the world was saved. The news was still trying to piece together everything that had happened but they did have some video footage of what had happened, and they played them continuously on almost every channel. There were six heroes that were listed as being responsible for saving the city. They were calling themselves the Avengers. Harry had heard of Iron Man or Tony Stark before. He was often in the news for something or other, and Dudley was obsessed with him because he was rich and girls loved him. Harry also knew Captain America, he had learned about him in primary school. The Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk were unfamiliar to Harry. But the last member of the group was both familiar and foreign to him.

Harry closely studied all the videos and pictures of Thor that flashed across the screen. It was utterly strange for Harry to consider that the muscular man in the silver armor and long red cape was his biological father. The God of Thunder was nearly the exact opposite of Loki in every way. Loki was tall but lean with inky black hair, pale skin, and emerald green eyes. Thor was tall as well, taller even. But where Loki was lean, Thor was broad and muscular with long blonde hair and a well-trimmed beard. His skin was a golden tan, and his eyes were blue. The same stormy blue as Harry’s own had become. Or at least that’s what Loki had claimed their color to be. The pictures on the tellie made it difficult to tell if Loki had told him the truth or not.

Harry didn’t get long to ponder about his father being on Earth because the news program switched to the perpetrator of the attack. The shock of seeing Loki riding around with the aliens, and fighting with Thor was enough to send Harry scrambling back up to his room. Loki was the reason behind the attack. He’d tried to take over the world. He’d kept this knowledge from Harry and it hurt. Why had Loki done this? Why was he fighting Thor? There had been footage of the two of them fighting on Stark Tower. It wasn’t close up or very clear but it was good enough to see that Loki had stabbed Thor in the side only for Thor to retaliate and slam him into the ground. Before Thor could attack again Loki had rolled off the side of the building only to be caught by an alien craft.

Loki had only told him stories from their childhood, and from them Harry assumed that they had been close. He never once mentioned what their relationship was like now. Harry had been too enraptured by the idea of both his parents being alive that he didn’t really think about what their relationship might be. Never once did he imagine that it their relationship would have been this bad. While fighting they had looked as if they had wanted to kill one another. Harry wasn’t sure what to do with this information. Everything was far too confusing. Harry had been really starting to trust Loki, and this attack made him second-guess his feelings towards Loki. Only time would tell just what Loki’s true motives were.


	4. Float Through the Air

The next week passed with a constant stream of news articles and TV programs all talking about the invasion of New York. Harry was perhaps the one person in the world who was tired of hearing about it. Everyone else couldn’t shut up about it. Hermione had sent him a letter gushing all about it but Harry couldn’t find it within him to bother responding. Ron was in Egypt so Harry wondered if the redhead even knew about the attack. Even other news like an escaped mass murderer was over shadowed by speculations about the Avengers. Most people hailed them as heroes while some thought they should pay for the destruction, and be brought up on charges. However, everyone seemed to be in agreement that Loki was at fault, and they wanted to see him punished for his crimes. He’d led an attack in Germany that had killed 80 people, and that’s not counting the many others who had perished from opening a portal to let an alien army attack Earth. Harry just couldn’t get a handle on his emotions or how he felt about what Loki had done. It was hard to reconcile the caring person he had been with him to the evil villain that had been responsible for destroying half of New York.

The only good thing about all of this was that the Dursleys and Marge were all distracted, which meant that so far none of them had noticed that Harry’s eyes had finally turned blue, and that he no longer wore his glasses. Although, to be honest, Harry wasn’t sure they would have noticed anyway. Harry had been spending a lot of his time in the park to avoid hearing more about the Avengers and the attack. It was also the first place he had met Loki, and the place where they had continued to meet over the month and half of their acquaintance. A part of him almost hoped that Loki would show up and declare that it had all been some big misunderstanding. It would figure that Harry would get his parents back only for that parent to turn out to be an evil mastermind. He was tempted to call Jormungandr. Maybe his brother would know more about what had happened with Loki, and why he done this. But he was hesitant because it wasn’t really an emergency.

It was while he was sitting on a swing in the park that a familiar face entered the park. Not the familiar face he had been hoping for. Harry watched with trepidation as a man with short dark blonde hair approached him. He had only seen him a few times from a distance when Loki had visited him. When he asked Loki had waved off his question by giving him a brief explanation that the man was a friend. To be honest Harry hadn’t given him a lot of thought. He’d been too focused on getting to know Loki, and learning his new form of magic to care too much about him. Had this man been in on the plot to take over the Earth as well?

“Hello,” the man greeted as he came to a stop beside Harry’s swing.

“Hi,” Harry replied uncertainly.

“I’m Clint, I don’t think your dad ever introduced the two of us properly,” he stuck out his hand to Harry.

Harry didn’t return the gesture. Uncertain about what this man wanted. Loki had been imprisoned, and was slated to be brought back to Asgard for punishment. Why would his associate want to speak to Harry? He knew he was Loki’s son at the very least. “I’m Harry. Are you here because of my… er dad?”

Clint withdrew his hand his open friendly expression hardening. “So you are Loki’s kid.”

“What?” Harry frowned.

“I wasn’t sure. My memories were fuzzy but you look like him and he came to visit you so often. And then of course you just confirmed it,” Clint said eyeing him critically.

“Wait, what do you mean your memories were fuzzy? You didn’t know who I was? I thought Loki said you were his friend?” Harry was growing wary about just what this man’s intentions were.

Clint snorted. “Oh, we’re definitely not friends. You could say I was more of an unwilling minion thanks to his mind control mojo.”

Harry tensed on his swing and prepared to flee. Was this man out for revenge against Loki, and decided to use Harry to get it? But something suddenly clicked in Harry’s mind. He recognized this man from somewhere else. Clint bore a striking resemblance to Hawkeye, the archer in the Avengers. There were many close ups of the man’s face because he wasn’t highlighted as often as say Iron Man or Thor were but Harry was certain that it was him.

“What do you want? Why are you here?” Harry questioned.

“I need you to come with me,” Clint stated firmly.

“Why?” Harry couldn’t help but be curious. From the news the Avengers were the good guys. Would they want to prosecute him just because Loki was the bad guy in this situation? Did they think he’d known something about the attack?

“We don’t want to hurt you, we just want to ask you some questions, kid,” Clint assured.

“Whose we?”

“You’re a paranoid little shit, aren’t you?” Clint questioned with a chuckle.

“Just being careful especially considering you just admitted to hating Loki,” Harry replied.

“Smart. We, is the Avengers and SHIELD. The Avengers you’ve probably heard about unless you’ve been living under a rock the past week. While SHIELD is an organization that protects the world from strange anomalies like the little stunt your old man pulled. We want to know how much you know about Loki, what your relationship is with him, and why he came to visit you so often. We already know the relationship part but we’d like to know the how you came to be part,” Clint said.

“Do I have a choice?” Harry asked.

“Not really. This is us asking nicely. If you cooperate we’ll return you home after we’re through, if not… well I think you’ve seen the power we’ve got backing us,” Clint hinted.

“Fine, I’ll go,” Harry agreed.

Loki hadn’t been able to defeat the Avengers with an entire alien army. Harry certainly wouldn’t be up to the task all on his own. He could fight but he would still end up being dragged away anyway. Besides Harry might be able to learn some valuable information that just might help him understand just what Loki had done. He could call for Jormungandr. But then again calling his brother would just bring him to the attention of the Avengers and these SHIELD people, and without his magic his brother was a lot more vulnerable. Not as weak as a normal human but he certainly wouldn’t be able to stand up to all the Avengers just like Loki hadn’t been able to.

“Great, we’ll just inform your guardians that you’ll be gone for a little while,” Clint said.

“Don’t bother, I doubt they’ll even notice I’m gone,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

Clint frowned but shrugged. “All right if you insist, follow me kid.”

Taking a deep breath Harry did just that. Clint led him to a nondescript black SUV with several people in suits and sunglasses waiting inside. Harry was forced to sit in the middle between Clint and one of the other men. This man wasn’t wearing a suit instead he wore a brown leather jacket, and he was looking straight ahead so that Harry could only glimpse his strong jaw and chin. There was complete silence in the car as they started driving.

“Where are we going exactly?” Harry asked.

“To a secure SHIELD base,” Clint answered curtly.

Harry decided Clint wasn’t really interested in having a conversation with him, and so he kept his mouth shut. They stopped the SUV when they reached a runway, and a waiting jet. Nerves consumed Harry. He’d never even seen a jet in person before, let alone ridden in one. He couldn’t believe he was about to just hop in one and take off to parts unknown. But then again how was this any different from the time he had just gone off with Hagrid to Diagon Alley? At least he’d seen Clint before and knew that the man belonged to a group who was dedicated to protecting the world.  

Clint and the man on the other side of Harry were the only ones who got out of the SUV. Harry got a closer look at the other man’s face and realized he recognized him. It was Steve Rogers, Captain America himself. Harry didn’t quite know what to make of such an escort. The Captain kept sending quick glances in Harry’s direction as if he was a bomb that was about to go off. The two Avengers escorted Harry onto the jet. Clint helped Harry put on his safety straps before sitting down beside him. One of the pilots also had a familiar face. It was the only female member of the Avengers, the Black Widow. They were really taking this seriously, and Harry couldn’t help but feel like some sort of dangerous criminal.

Again there was silence in the jet as they flew to their location. Harry fidgeted nervously in his seat and wondered what was going to happen when they got to their destination. Would Thor be there? Would Loki? Harry wasn’t sure if he was ready to see both of them especially together. What would the wizarding world do once they realized he had gone off with SHIELD? Unless he made it back before they even noticed he was gone. That would certainly be the best scenario. Of course how was he going to face them all once school started knowing what he now did about himself?

“We’re here, kid,” Clint said waving a hand in front of his face to snap him out of his thoughts.

Harry was so distracted he hadn’t even noticed, and he stood without thinking. The jet’s safety belts snapped and ripped off him as if they were tissue paper. He had forgotten to unhook the belts, and they weren’t able to withstand Harry’s newly developed strength.

“Oops, I’m sorry,” Harry flushed as he fumbled with the broken belt straps. He tried to put them back together but ended up making a bigger mess of things.

Clint, the Captain, and the Black Widow were left staring at him with varying expressions of surprise and amusement.

“It’s fine, just leave it,” the Black Widow commanded before striding out of the jet.

“Right, okay,” Harry dropped them in the seat and followed.

Captain America and Clint fell in at his sides once more. It was only when they got outside that Harry realized that they hadn’t landed somewhere on the ground. The base they had arrived at was some sort of huge hovercraft that flew high up in the clouds. There were four great turbine fans ensuring that the massive station stayed aloft. It was utterly incredible that such a massive ship was able to stay in the air without the aid of some type of magic. Harry’s head was swiveling back and forth as he worked to catch sight of all the activity on the large aerial runway. All of the workers on the runway stopped to watch as the four of them passed, and Harry couldn’t help but feel like they were staring at him.

The three Avengers ushered him into the interior of the base awing Harry further by the sheer size of the flying craft. He hadn’t even known that muggles were capable of such feats. After walking through a maze of corridors the four of them entered a secure conference room. There were six other people waiting for them. A tall black man dressed in all black leather with an eye-patch stood in front of the others giving Harry a hard piercing stare. Behind him sitting at a table Harry recognized Tony Stark himself sitting and whispering with a curly haired man with glasses wearing a yellow shirt. A woman with dark hair and a blue form-fitting suit stood off to the side of the eye-patch man. On his other side was a giant blonde man Harry knew only too well. Harry’s anxiety ratcheted up several notches at being in the same room as his father for the first time.

Harry’s gaze was soon pulled from Thor to the person in the glass cell in the very back of the room. His hands were chained to the floor and the lower half of his face was covered in a black muzzle. It killed Harry to see Loki shackled like that. What was more there were cuts and bruises that lined his face, and he looked a little worse for wear. Despite the fact that Loki had gotten himself into this situation Harry still wanted nothing more than to go and free him. Loki’s eyes widened when he saw Harry enter with the other Avengers, and clear panic was written all over his face before he managed to conceal it away. The look of panic was not lost to others in the room either.

Harry hadn’t realized he had taken a step towards Loki until a hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Captain America looking back at him. His blue eyes were kind but held a warning.

“So you’re Loki’s offspring?” the man with eye-patch drawled.

Harry’s gaze snapped back to him. He was clearly the one in charge of this operation.

“Yes,” Harry replied proudly. Loki may have tried to take over the world but it didn’t stop the fact that he had given his life for Harry’s.

“I can see it,” the eye-patch man said disparagingly.

“Who are you?” Harry demanded.

“Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. Who are you?” Director Fury countered.

“Harek Potter,” Harry said.

“Harek? As if it wasn’t bad enough that Reindeer Games over there was your father. You get stuck with a name like that, yeesh. What were you thinking giving the poor kid a name like that?” Tony Stark questioned throwing a smirk Loki’s way that had Loki glaring back.

“Stark,” Fury snapped.

“What?” Tony flashed an innocent smirk.

“I really don’t need your input on this matter, Stark,” Fury snapped.

“What do you want from me? Why did you bring me here?” Harry asked bringing the attention back towards him. He was on his own here, and he needed to step up and speak up for himself. There were so many instances that he had allowed others to speak for him. It was time that he learned how to stand on his own two feet without anyone else to help him.

“We need to ask you some questions, Harek, before we can let you go home. So why don’t you take a seat. Make yourself comfortable,” Fury waved him towards the round conference table with the chairs. Tony patted the chair beside him in welcome.

Harry stayed where he was. He didn’t like the way this man was just ordering him around, and if there was one thing Harry was good at it was disobeying orders.

“Kid, this isn’t a game, and I really don’t think you want me to make you sit,” Fury warned.

Harry felt a helpless rage settle within him as he stiffly seated himself across from Tony with a direct view of Loki. Loki’s emerald green eyes caught his blue. They were just as warm and full of caring as they had always been. Harry felt a sense of warmth and safety flow over him even knowing just how dangerous Loki was. It reminded him of the pictures he had treasured of Lily. The face may have been different but the eyes were still the same warm, loving emerald green.

Harry turned to glare at Fury, waiting for him to start asking whatever questions he had to ask. He would have to pick his battles carefully, and whether or not he sat down was a rather minor one. He was willing to follow along for the moment.

“That’s better. Now, first and foremost how do you exist? Thor here told us that Loki hasn’t been on Earth in centuries. So you’re existence should be impossible,” Fury stated.

Harry’s gaze flicked to Loki’s. He gave a minute nod of his head. Harry found himself repeating the bizarre story that Loki had told him. However, Harry kept Thor’s and the wizarding world’s involvement out of it. He wasn’t about to reveal his true parentage to a room full of strangers. Thor didn’t deserve to find out that way, and Harry wasn’t ready to deal with it quite yet. Harry didn’t mention the wizarding world in fear that he might be breaking the wizard Statute of Secrecy. Of course considering the company he was in, he couldn’t be sure if they already knew about them. He substituted Voldemort for terrorists and made sure they knew what a big sacrifice Loki had made for Harry. Although, at this point he wasn’t really quite sure why he was sticking up for Loki.

When he was finished everyone was staring at him in stunned silence.

Tony Stark was the one to break that silence as he burst into a fit of chuckles. “Let me get this straight, Mr. Kneel Before Me is actually Mrs. Kneel Before Me?”

Loki sent Tony a death glare. The billionaire didn’t seem too phased by it.

“Not exactly…” Harry trailed off uncomfortably.

“My brother is a shape shifter, which includes changing his gender. Such tricks often got him in a great deal trouble with Father. It is very possible that Loki is his mother. He would be the second child that Loki has given birth to,” Thor cut in.

“Wait, are you talking about the Norse Myth about the eight legged horse?” questioned the man in the yellow shirt and glasses.

Thor nodded, and Harry perked up. Jormungandr had told him quite a bit about their brothers and sister. But he was always eager to hear more. Even if they were considered monsters in mythology and to Asgardians they were still Harry’s siblings, and Loki’s children. It had been obvious to Harry that Loki loved all his children a great deal, and hated that he had allowed them to be taken from him. Loki said he wanted to change that, and rebuild his relationships with his children. Harry had been interested as well. He’d always wanted a family and he now had a large, pre-made one waiting for him.

“His name is Sleipnir. He is Loki’s oldest child,” Thor explained.

“But he’s a horse,” Tony stated blankly.

“Yes, but an intelligent one. On par with any mortal or Aesir. He has eight legs and is the fastest steed in the nine realms,” Thor agreed.

“But he’s a horse and his father was horse and Rock of Ages gave _birth_ to him?” Tony stated incredulously.

“As I said my brother is a shape shifter. He is capable of taking female form or the forms of animals, and sometimes both. He took the form of a mare to lure away Svadilfari, a stallion who was being used by a giant to help him trick Asgard, and it had unforeseen consequences,” Thor stated looking regretful at remembering the occurrence.

“Just when you thought the world couldn’t any weirder,” Clint muttered.

“Whose your father then?” Fury cried in exasperation.

Harry glanced to Loki in a panic. He definitely hadn’t inherited Loki’s penchant for lying. In fact he was terrible at it, and had a good idea that this man would sniff him out in a moment. Loki’s gaze was beseeching. Harry knew that he didn’t want Thor to find out. Considering the terrible state of their relationship Harry could understand. Harry couldn’t help but want to protect Loki, and if he wanted to keep it a secret Harry supposed he could try and go along with it.

“James Potter,” Harry answered hoping he sounded half convincing. It should be considering the fact that he had believed it was the truth for most of his life.

They seemed to take in this information without any skepticism. Or at least not anything that Harry noticed.

“Were you aware of the impending alien invasion?” Fury demanded his gaze practically burning a hole through him.

“No,” Harry said firmly staring him in the eyes…Er eye.

Again the man seemed to believe him, and accepted his answer. After that it was a blur of questions about where he had grown up, how long he had known about Loki, and a lot questions revolved around what sorts of abilities he possessed. Harry refused to speak about his abilities partly because he didn’t quite know himself, and because it wasn’t any of their business. Fury didn’t like it but in this matter Harry refused to budge. The magic lessons with Loki were never brought up either. The last thing he needed was them knowing that Loki had been training him in magic. He reasoned that keeping his abilities a secret would allow he him a measure of surprise should he need to escape at some point. He saw no reason to lie about the Dursleys or about how long he had known Loki. Once he was through Fury demanded he be taken for a physical examination.

“Why? I answered your questions, can’t I just go back to my relatives now?” Harry glared at the Director.

“We must make sure that you are healthy, nephew. The children of immortals and mortals can sometimes experience complications. I would take you back to Asgard to have you checked but Loki has insisted that you remain on Midgard, and I will try to respect his wishes in this regard. My friends are going to do their best to check and ensure that nothing is wrong,” Thor explained gently.

“I’m fine. I’ve survived this long,” Harry replied nervously.

If they did check him over Harry was fairly certain that they would be capable of figuring out that he was lying. After all he wasn’t half human, and Harry figured that it would pretty obvious if they did any blood tests. What if they found out that Thor was really his biological father? That was a situation that Harry wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with just yet.

“It’s just a check up kid, we aren’t going to experiment on you. Your uncle here wouldn’t dare let us no matter how much the SHIELD council would love to get their hands on you,” Tony pointed out causing Loki to look even more furious than before, and maybe just a tad bit frightened. His green gaze flickered to Thor.

“No one will touch my nephew,” Thor rumbled. Loki’s tense frame visibly relaxed. Trusting Thor’s word to keep Harry safe. Harry couldn’t help but feel a little thrill that Thor was so willing to protect him even without knowing just how close their connection actually was.

Harry knew that avoiding this check up wouldn’t be an option. Just as coming here hadn’t been an option.

“Fine,” Harry sighed in defeat. “But if I do this I want to be able to talk to my mother after.”

Tony giggled. Everyone stared at him. The man in the yellow shirt gave a long-suffering sigh, and took his glasses off so he could pinch the bridge of his nose.

“What? Okay, I’m sorry. I just can’t help it. Loki is a mother. _He’s_ a mother.”

“So we’ve heard. Repeatedly,” the dark haired woman said dryly.

Harry turned his gaze to Fury. The two of them stared at one another, neither of them willing to back down.

“Fine,” the director snapped. He looked extraordinarily displeased. It reminded him a bit of the way that Snape looked at him.

The man in the glasses and yellow shirt stood. “I’m Dr. Bruce Banner, I’m going to be the one to give you your check up. It’s nice to meet you, Harek.”

“Nice to meet you too, Dr. Banner,” Harry replied standing up as well and realizing that he was nearly as tall as the man.

Harry felt instantly at ease with the doctor. Dr. Banner exuded a center of calm that Harry had never sensed from anyone else before. Dr. Banner was friendly and chatted with him about nonsensical things as he led Harry over to the side of the room where a little examination table had been set up.

“We’re just going to do a quick check up. Height, weight nothing you wouldn’t do on a normal visit to the doctor’s. We’re also going to take a small sample of blood to analyze further, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry agreed. They were doing this to try and make sure that Harry was healthy because most half humans weren’t. The only way to stop them was to admit to not being half human. Either way it would reveal the truth. At least with them taking a blood sample it would delay the inevitable a bit longer.

“All right first things first, step right up on the scale,” Dr. Banner indicated the industrial sized one on the floor.  

Harry had never actually been to the doctor’s before, and so the process of the examination was a new one to him. Harry watched as the numbers of the scale continued to rise past what he knew should have been acceptable for someone of his height, and lean build. He knew that not even Dudley weighed that much despite his impressive girth.

“You’re about 5’10”, and you weigh 468 pounds,” Dr. Banner informed him looking a bit dumfounded. “Wait, Thor can you come over here for a second?”

The large blonde walked over, and Dr. Banner asked him to step on the scale.

“Okay, well that makes sense then. Thor is about 6’6” and he weighs 642 pounds,” Dr. Banner announced.

“You need to lay off the pop tarts big guy,” Tony joked.

Thor looked confused and saddened by the thought of not being able to eat pop tarts.

“Asgardians must be physically denser, which would account for their stronger durability, and physical strength,” Dr. Banner theorized. “I wouldn’t have expected Harek to have inherited that much of an Asgardian durability.”

“Loki is a Jotun, perhaps that is why? They are larger and physically stronger creatures,” Thor explained.

“That would make sense. We’ll look into it more later. For now let’s just continue with the exam.” Dr. Banner suggested and proceeded to check his ears, throat, blood pressure, heart, lungs, and various reflexes.

Finally he produced a needle, a needle made of a newly discovered metal. It was one of the strongest metals on Earth, and was capable of breaking the skin of an Asgardian. Harry watched as the needle pierced his skin and withdrew a small vial of his blood.

“Thank you, Harek, you did a great job. I wish all of my patients were as easy to work with as you. We’ll just run this through a couple of tests, and then we’ll go from there. Maybe we’ll do an MRI and full a body scan later on to check for any abnormalities in your organs or skeletal structure,” Dr. Banner assured him. He wiped off the small pinprick of blood that had formed and moved to place a plaster on it. But the small hole had already sealed itself shut.

“Accelerated healing,” Dr. Banner mumbled and made a note of it on his chart. Harry could hardly be bothered to notice. He was too focused on the upcoming confrontation with Loki.

“Can I speak to Loki now? Alone?” Harry requested.

“You can’t be alone with him. I wasn’t born yesterday, and though you didn’t have any part in the attack it doesn’t mean you wouldn’t help him out now. We’re not going to risk you letting him escape,” Fury replied firmly.

“I will remain in the room to ensure that nothing happens, and so that Harek has some measure of privacy in speaking with Loki,” Thor offered.

“Fine, but if his ass gets out,” Fury warned pointing a finger at Loki. “It’s on you’re head.”

“Of course,” Thor agreed easily.

Fury sighed. “Get over here, kid.” Fury motioned him towards the cage door.

Harry eagerly walked to his side. Everyone else reluctantly filed out of the room. Fury hit a button on the panel by the door and pulled out a key from his pocket. He placed the key in the lock and turned it. The glass door slid open. Harry stepped inside and was about to ask how they were supposed to talk to one another when Loki still had his mask on. In the next instance Fury hit another button, and the mask popped off; although, his hands remained chained to the floor. After another glare for both Thor and Loki, Fury strode from the room.

“Harry,” Loki said smiling softly.

“You lied to me,” Harry accused. His sense of betrayal was even stronger now that he was standing face to face to Loki.

A pained expression flickered across his features. “I did not lie to you.”

“No, but you weren’t completely honest with me either. How are you any better than Voldemort? What you did was worse than what he did. You tried to take over the world. People died because of you. You made me care about you, and think that we would be a family. And all this time you were planning to conquer the world,” Harry cried his grief pouring out of him without him being able to stop it.

“Harry,” Loki said sounding truly desolate. He took a step towards him only to be brought up short by his chained hands. “If I could I would tell you everything but I cannot.”

“Why not? Give me one good reason why you can’t be honest with me?” Harry demanded.

“I’ve been bound to keep my silence,” Loki said looking a bit pained as he spoke the words.

“What do you mean bound? Who bound you?” Thor interrupted. He’d slowly moved closer to the cell despite his promise to give them space.

Loki threw him a dark glare. “What part of bound to silence is difficult for you to understand? I can’t tell you.”

“This would mean that there is another controlling you, and that you are not responsible for your actions,” Thor enthused.

“No one controls me,” Loki snarled.

“Then why can’t you speak, Loki? Who keeps you silent?” Thor demanded.

Loki just glared. He turned back to Harry. “What happened in New York doesn’t change anything in regards to my feelings for you. You’re my son and I love you. What I did was only in an effort to protect you and your sister and your brothers. All of our time spent together was real. Never for a moment doubt that I care for you. My greatest fear was that I might lose your trust over this. But I physically could not tell you.”

“How was trying to destroy the world I live on protecting me?” Harry demanded.

“If I hadn’t joined them they would have followed through with their plans and the attack would have been much worse. My joining them gave me a measure of control of how the attack would proceed. If I had not you would have been killed or worse been enslaved,” Loki pleaded for understanding.

“How can I trust you again?” Harry questioned forlornly.

“Give me time, and I will prove myself to you,” Loki begged.

Harry wanted to forgive him so badly. Even after everything he was desperate to cling to any semblance of family that he had. Maybe Loki really did have a good reason for doing what he had. Harry could recall that Loki had mentioned working for someone when he had spoken about the task he needed to complete. Could he be telling the truth or was he just trying to get back in his good graces? Either way it was obvious that Loki cared for him. More than anyone ever had before. For this reason alone Harry was willing to give him a second chance.

“All right, I’ll give you another chance,” Harry agreed.

“Thank you, Harry,” Loki smiled looking utterly relieved.

Harry nodded and gave a slight smile back.

“But this is the last chance,” Harry warned.

“I will not disappoint you,” Loki swore fervently.

Harry signaled to Thor to open the door. Once Harry stepped from the cell Thor called Fury and the other Avengers back into the room to secure Loki once more.

“Come, nephew, let us get you something to eat,” Thor offered putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him towards the door so that he would have to watch them re-muzzle Loki. “You have had a long day.”

Harry nodded his acceptance and chanced one last backward glance towards Loki. The chained god watched him with a bleak expression, worry in his eyes as Harry disappeared from his sight along with Thor.


	5. Doctor, Doctor Give Me the News

Thor watched his nephew. The boy was seated by a large window and was looking out at the approaching storm with rapt attention. It was a huge improvement from the earlier sorrow he had shown whilst speaking to Loki and then whilst eating. Thor had to marvel at the abilities of the mortals as well. Their creations had grown to new heights since the scant few years he had visited last. Thor had not believed them capable of creating a building that could fly. The helicarrier, as his friends called it, allowed mortals the chance to see the approaching storm from inside the clouds themselves. Thor was used to such a sight but he still enjoyed watching. It seemed as though his nephew did as well.

“Watching the storm from up here is quite a different sight, isn’t it?” Thor asked as he sat down beside the boy.

Harek was the first of Loki’s children that Thor had gotten a chance to really speak with. All of the others had been declared monsters, and locked away before Thor had even gotten a chance to see them. He remembered just how saddened Loki was afterwards. His brother had refused to speak or see anyone for months afterward. Then of course there were the dark times after the deaths of Loki’s twins. This child seemed perfectly whole and healthy, and Thor hoped that the tests Tony and Bruce performed proved he truly was. The children of mortals and immortals were prone to difficulties. Sometimes they were born with all the strength of an immortal but with the fragile bone structure of a mortal causing easy breaks and damage to internal organs when exerting that strength. Sometimes they were gifted with the long lifespan of an immortal but suffered the quick aging of mortals. They would age and age until their bodies were frail and wrinkled but still their longevity would keep them alive. Thor did not wish such a life on his nephew.

It was a shock to discover the deception his father had enacted, and the harsh punishment he had forced on Loki. Thor could only count himself lucky that his father had merely stripped him of his powers, and not his memories during his own punishment. He could not imagine having to grow up again and live another life, becoming attached, and then eventually losing an entirely new family. Loki had given birth to a child without knowing who he truly was, and then when Loki had returned to Asgard his father had kept that knowledge from him. His father had kept that knowledge from all of them, and caused his nephew to grow up without the knowledge of his true parentage. Who knows what he had suffered without knowing the truth about the origin of his abilities?

“I’ve always loved storms. In the summers it meant I didn’t have to go out and work in the garden all day,” Harek replied looking longingly out into the clouds.

“I am fond of storms as well. They are beautiful, powerful, and deadly,” Thor observed.

“Is that why you’re the God of Thunder? Because you love storms?” Harek asked with a hint of a smile.

Thor laughed. “I suppose in part. I had something of a natural inclination towards them as a boy. Everyone always says they match my temper, which can start quickly, and be quite fierce.”

Harek smiled at him and then fell silent. Together they watched the approaching storm enjoying the companionable silence between them. Lightning flashed and Thor could feel the energy tingling through his skin. After years of wielding Mjolnir, he could still control some of the hammer’s powers even when he was not in direct contact with it.

“You said you often worked in the garden. Your relatives gave you many tasks to perform?” Thor questioned curious about his nephew’s life.

“You could say that,” Harek agreed. “You and Loki didn’t have a lot of chores growing up?”

“No, Mother tried but we would often do more harm than good. On one occasion we managed to set fire to all of the draperies in the palace. I don’t recall how. It was odd because we had been tasked to wash the windows,” Thor chuckled in remembrance.

“Loki told me about that,” Harek said with a smile. Thor smiled back pleased to see his nephew happy after all the shock and pain he had suffered today.

“Did he? What else has he told you about me?” Thor was surprised that Loki would have bothered speaking to his son about him considering his level of hate for Thor.

“He told me a few stories of your adventures with your friends. What exactly is a bilgesnipe?” Harek questioned.

Thor grinned and happily launched into an excited tale of the time he and his friends had been attacked by a pack of bilgesnipe. He used his hands to show the size of the antlers, and made appropriate slashing motions to show off his skillful attempts at dispatching them. Harek laughed and listened eagerly to his tale.

“I slayed a basilisk,” Harek informed him shyly after his own tale was through.

“Truly? They are a most dangerous beast to hunt especially for one so young,” Thor was shocked.

“Yes,” Harek said proudly.

“All on your own?”

Again Harek nodded.

“That is a great accomplishment, nephew!” Thor exclaimed and clapped Harek on the back. He seemed a bit young for such a battle but if he had done it already then Thor would gladly congratulate him for such an impressive feat.

The boy smiled and flushed at the praise.

“You must tell me everything,” Thor said.

“Well, I’m not sure I can,” Harek replied uncertainly.

“Why not?” Thor frowned.

“There’s this Statute of Secrecy. I could be expelled if I tell you, maybe thrown in prison,” Harek explained.

This sounded vaguely familiar to Thor. “Are you speaking of the magic users of Midgard?”

“You know about wizards?” Harek asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Thor recalled his father’s tales of them, and his own experience with Lily.

“Oh, then I suppose I can tell you since you already know,” Harek shrugged.

“Yes, I wish to know all about your heroic adventure,” Thor enthused.

“There was a basilisk in the school that I go to. It’s a magical school you see. A school for wizards and witches to learn magic. Loki and J- my father went to it as well. It’s hidden from the muggles, er mortals. I don’t know if you know but wizards and witches have their own separate governments, towns, and schools. There are also a bunch of magical creatures that exist here on Earth, and wizards help hide them from muggles. The basilisk in my school had been there since the time of the school’s founders. It was put there by one of the founders who was angry at the others. He wanted to get revenge because he didn’t like some of the students that were being let in. He wanted there to be stricter requirements based on a person’s blood. He ended up leaving the school before he ever let the basilisk loose, and never returned. So hundreds of years later someone else did it for him. It was attacking the students so my friends and I tracked it down. I managed to stab it through the roof of its mouth to kill it. It was more dumb luck than anything else,” Harek explained.

“It cannot have been all luck to slay such a large beast. You were very brave to have gone after such a creature,” Thor assured. Although, he did wonder if Loki knew of what Harek had done. His brother was very protective of his children. Such an event was sure to worry Loki immensely. Just then something else registered in his mind. “Did you say you stabbed it through the roof of its mouth?”

Harek flushed. “I was kind of… almost in its mouth at the time.”

Thor felt himself pale. “Mayhaps you are lucky.”

Harek sent him a weak smile. Basilisks had deadly venom. If the beast was old enough, and with enough venom they could even fell an Aesir. It was truly lucky that one of the fangs hadn’t nicked Harek when he had been near the creature’s mouth. It certainly would have killed his young, half human nephew.

“So how do you know about wizards and witches? How much do you know exactly?” Harek questioned, regarding him a shrewd manner that reminded Thor of Loki.

“I am somewhat familiar with the mortal magic users and their society. Mostly because my father worked with them during the Frost Giants’ last attempt to take over Midgard,” Thor explained.

“I didn’t know that. Loki told me that the wizards revere the Asgardians because they think their powers came from them. Is that true?” Harek questioned.

“I am not sure. Not all Aesir are born with the talent for magic so I am not certain if that is something that would have been commonly passed down to the children of mortals and Asgardians. And as I mentioned the children of Asgardians and mortals aren’t always the most hale beings. My mother is quite fond of history; it is something that you could ask her. If anyone would know the origins of your father’s people, it would be she,” Thor offered without really thinking about it.

“When? Is she coming here?” Harek asked with a frown.

“No, I suppose I thought that for a moment you would return with us to Asgard after all.”

Thor had forgotten that Loki didn’t want Harek to return to Asgard. To be honest he had to agree. It was one of his father’s staunchest rules that no mortals were to be allowed on Asgard. His father had also known about Harek and had made the decision to leave him on Midgard. His father would no doubt cast Harek back to Midgard if Thor was to return to Asgard with the boy.

“Yeah, I have to go back to Hogwarts in about a week and half,” said Harek.

“Hogwarts? The school you attend is Hogwarts?”

Harek nodded.

“I am familiar with the school. Another reason I am familiar with mortal magic users is because the last time I came to Midgard, several years ago, I met a witch. She had once attended a magical school called Hogwarts. Her name was Lily. What a coincidence that you attend it as well,” Thor said, smiling at the thought of have something in common with Harek.

Thor watched as Harek’s face paled and a frightened look flashed across his features.

“Harek?” Thor questioned reaching out to touch the boy’s shoulder in concern.

“Oh, well, it’s not that a big of a coincidence. After all it’s the only school in the UK,” the boy replied breathlessly, a nervous twitch to his fingertips.

“I see,” Thor smiled trying to bring back the easy camaraderie that the two of them had shared before, and not understanding why he was so suddenly ill at ease.

But the boy drew back, his head dropping so Thor only had a clear view of his messy crop of black hair.

“Harek?” Thor tried again, concerned.

“‘M fine,” the boy mumbled turning to look back out the window.

Thor wanted to question the boy further but they were interrupted.

“Uh, Thor, could you come here for a minute?” Bruce questioned from the doorway.

“I will be back in a moment, Harek,” Thor said.

The boy turned back around panic in his bright blue eyes.

Thor frowned but continued to follow Bruce from the room. Harek had been given temporary quarters on the helicarrier until they returned him to his mortal relatives.

“Is there something wrong?” Thor asked in concern as Bruce began leading him through the hallway.

“We’ve found a couple of irregularities in Harek’s blood sample. Tony and I haven’t said anything to anyone else yet. We wanted to talk to you about our findings first,” Bruce replied looking a bit nervous.

Thor felt his stomach twist with the first touch of fear. Something must be wrong with Harek. He could only imagine how devastated Loki would be when he found out.

The two of them entered the lab. Tony was waiting for them, looking over the screens of their machines.

“What have you found? What is wrong with Harek?” Thor demanded.

“Why don’t you take a seat big guy?” Tony motioned towards one of the stools beside him and in front of the screen.

Thor frowned but did as Tony asked of him. Bruce seated himself on the other stool.

“Please, just let me know if Harek is all right,” Thor pleaded.

“Harek is fine, Thor. In fact he’s perfectly healthy,” Bruce assured him.

“Yeah, he’s just not human, like not even a little bit,” said Tony.

“I do not understand. What do you mean he is not human? He is half mortal. Even if his Jotun blood was dominant there would still be traces of his mortal blood,” Thor elaborated. Even if Harek’s father was a wizard he was still a mortal magic user, and his blood should register as such.

“We located the Jotun blood, and we were able to match it to the sample we had taken from Loki. We were able to identify that they were the same species and that they are a genetic match,” said Bruce.

“Yup, the half of Harek’s DNA that is contributed by the mother is definitely Loki’s,” Tony added.

“But we ran into a problem when we looked at the other half of his DNA. We realized it wasn’t human or Frost Giant in the slightest. So we needed another nonhuman sample to compare it to. Yours was the only one we had access to,” Bruce explained.

“Well, we had the Chitauris’ but we were pretty sure it wasn’t going to match,” Tony cut in.

“Anyway,” Bruce spoke over Tony. “We had a match.”

“Harek’s father is Asgardian?” Thor frowned. It would certainly change things if Harek wasn’t half mortal. He would be able to return with them to Asgard if he wasn’t.

“You could say that,” Tony muttered glancing at Bruce and shifting uncomfortably.

“Thor your blood was too close of a match,” Bruce informed him carefully.

“Too close?”

“Yes, according to our extensive tests, you’re Harek’s biological father,” Bruce stated.

At first the words did not make sense. He had heard Bruce perfectly but the words held no meaning to Thor.

“I do not understand,” Thor admitted.

“You are Harek’s father,” Bruce repeated firmly.

Tony gestured to the screens and began to explain their findings in a swift, anxious manner with words that were unfamiliar to Thor. He wasn’t even attempting to listen. Only one word seemed to be echoing around in his mind, and that word was father.

“How is this possible?” Thor whispered. He trusted his friends, and their abilities. But surely in this one instance they were wrong. This could not possibly be the truth. Unwillingly, his mind pulled up an image of Harek. His bright blue eyes, so similar to Thor’s own, stood out to him, mocking him.

“You tell us,” Tony said glancing at him. “I mean the last time you were on Earth you crash landed in New Mexico. And that was just a year ago, right? So the timelines don’t really match up with Loki’s kid. Surprisingly, SHIELD wasn’t able to find a lot about him or his parents. But with a little digging we got ahold of his elementary school records, and his birth certificate. It says he was born in London, England, July 31st, thirteen years ago. The information we got on female Loki was about the same. It’s like he, well she, just disappears and she, or he, turns eleven. And we couldn’t find any record of the dad anywhere in the system. It’s a little strange…”

Thor felt himself freeze. He had stopped listening to Tony after he said Harek was thirteen. “I came to Midgard once before.”

“Really? And you’re still this clueless about our world?” Tony asked.

“Tony, not helping,” Bruce hissed. “How long ago was this visit?”

“I suppose it was thirteen or fourteen years ago. It is difficult to keep track. Asgardians live much longer than mortals. Before long a few years become nothing to us, and we lose track of time…” Thor answered with a dawning sense of realization. There was only one mortal he had spent any time with. But surely it was far too absurd an idea that Lily could have been Loki.

“Well, I hate to say this but the timing would be right,” Tony pointed out.

“Is it possible you ran into Loki while he was being punished?” Bruce offered gently.

“What was Loki’s name while he was on Midgard? What is Harek’s mother’s name?” Thor demanded.

“Um,” Bruce scrambled to pull up the records. “Lily Potter nee Evans.”

“There aren’t any photographs of her available. Like I said records of her stop at eleven, which means no photo IDs or yearbook pictures. So we can’t see if she looks like a female Loki. I wonder if lady Loki is hot… I mean I could seem him being a —Ooof. Ow. What was that for?” Tony demanded when Bruce elbowed him sharply.

Tony rubbed his chest while Bruce glared at him.

Thor stood abruptly. His heart felt like it was about to beat its way from his chest. He couldn’t remember ever feeling such a strong sense of panic before. His chest felt too tight, and he couldn’t breathe. The world was spinning out of his control, and for once his strength seemed to be failing him.

“Thor? Are you all right?” Bruce questioned in concern.

“I must speak to Loki,” Thor found himself saying.

He did not wait for their answers, and ignored their attempts to call him back. Thor stormed down the corridors of the helicarrier straight to his brother’s cell. There were several SHIELD agents standing guard in the room.

“Get out!” Thor roared. His roar was backed up by a peal of thunder.

The hardened SHEILD agents took one look at the enraged god, and scampered out as fast as they possibly could leaving Thor alone with Loki. Thor went to the panel beside the cell. He remembered the switch to remove Loki’s muzzle so that he could speak with him. Thor wasted no time in removing it. The sooner he did, the sooner he would get some answers.

“Thor,” Loki greeted warily as he watched the agitated God of Thunder pace in front of his cell.

“How long have you known?” Thor demanded still pacing.

“Known what?”

“Don’t play games with me, Loki!” Thor slammed his fist against the glass cell, cracking it slightly. “You know very well what I am speaking of.”

“I told you, I’ve only had my memories back for a couple of months. All of which were mostly spent in the company of my lovely benefactors,” Loki sneered.

“Months where you have known that your son…” Thor could hardly get the words out. “That your son… is _my_ son. That you were Lily.”

“I didn’t want you to know,” Loki was unwilling to meet Thor’s fierce blue gaze.

“I deserved to know, Loki,” Thor growled at him. In a somewhat softer tone he choked out, “He is my…I am his…”

“Well, now you do. What do you plan on doing with this information, Thor?”

“I…” Thor faltered.

Loki gave him a disparaging look. “This is why I did not want you to know. I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle the truth of what occurred between us when I was unaware of who I truly was. I feared you would reject Harek because of his parentage, because you wouldn’t be capable of accepting what happened between us.”

“Do not assume to know how I feel, Loki. Yes, I am shocked and horrified over what happened when you were not yourself. However, it happened, and we cannot change the past. It does not matter how this came to be or that we are not on amicable terms now. We have a child and we must move forward.”

“You are going to pretend that the past didn’t happen then?” Loki quirked an eyebrow at him.

“At the moment, yes,” Thor admitted. He wasn’t ready to deal with his and Loki’s past relationship and the feelings that came with it no matter how brief it had been. For now he would push it to the back of his mind, and focus on the fact that a child had been born from their ignorance of one another’s identities. Thor had a child. He was a father to a boy who already spent his life up until this point without him.

“I suppose you’re taking this a little bit better than I imagined you would,” Loki eyed him suspiciously as if waiting for him to suddenly change his mind. “But ignoring what happened isn’t going to make it go away, Thor.”

“I am a father to a thirteen year old boy that I barely know, and right now that is all that I care about. I want to get to know him. Everything else can wait,” Thor told him.

“You wish to be a part of his life?”

“Of course, I do. He’s my son,” Thor said simply. Nothing else mattered at the moment and no matter how much panic those words left him with, it also filled him with a strange sort of elation. He had a child, a son to share things with.

“You mean to claim him?” Loki asked eyeing him shrewdly.

“Yes, I will gladly claim him as my son before all of Asgard,” replied Thor cheerfully. His mind was already churning with all of things he would be able to teach and share with Harek.

“Doing so will make him your heir. Odin may not approve,” Loki pointed out.

“Let me worry about Father,” Thor insisted.

“I will worry about him. I don’t want Odin to know about my son,” Loki snapped.

“Things are different now, Loki. It is not just your decision anymore. He is not _your_ son, he is _our_ son. I have a say in what will happen to him.”

“Do you want Odin to lock Harek away like he locked away all of my other children?” Loki cried.

“He will not do that. I promise you this. I will not allow him to,” Thor vowed.

“You did not put up such a fight for my other children. You allowed them to be locked away like monsters,” Loki accused.

“I apologize. I thought that I was doing what was best.”

“They were children,” Loki argued.

“I recognize that I may have been wrong about them. Perhaps that is something else I can speak to Father about,” Thor admitted.

“You would go against the All-Father?”

“For my son, without question. And I will do all in my power to see justice is done for your other children,” Thor replied earnestly.

Thor had been a selfish child in the past. He had been too caught up in his own life of fighting and feasting to truly think of all that Loki had suffered. He had gone along with his father because it was easier. Now, Thor liked to believe he was a changed man. He wanted to make things up to Loki, and it would hopefully go a long way in repairing their relationship. They truly needed to repair their relationship for the benefit of Harek.

“So you plan to take Harek back with us to Asgard?” Loki questioned.

“I do not know what I am going to do. I am still reeling from the discovery that I am a father, and that you are the mother of my child,” Thor replied. “Does Harek know?”

“He is aware that you are his biological father,” Loki stated in a clipped tone.

“You didn’t poison him against me. Why?” Thor couldn’t help be surprised that Loki would have done such a thing. He was also a bit hurt that Harek had known and yet he had chosen not to share this connection with Thor.

“I would not do that to my son. I hate you, Thor, but I love Harek, and I did not want to ruin his dreams of having a happy family. So I did not tell him of our broken relationship instead I told him stories of our youth, of happier times. His relatives, my mortal sister and her fat oaf of a husband, did not treat him kindly,” Loki’s emerald eyes darkened.

“What do you mean?” Thor growled.

“They are small minded beings who hate anything that is different from themselves. I planned to take him away from them as soon as I was able, and appropriately reward them,” hatred and regret glimmered in Loki’s eyes.

Thor felt anger stir inside him. “He cannot return to these mortals.”

“For once we are in agreement,” Loki said looking uncomfortable about that fact.

“Loki, we cannot allow the disagreements between ourselves to keep from doing what is best for Harek. We are parents together, as strange as it may be. We must put our differences aside and work together towards Harek’s best interests.”

“Again, I agree. And you think what is best for him is to return to Asgard with us?” Loki questioned.

“Yes, I think he should live there. He is a Prince of Asgard, and he should live in Asgard with people like himself. People who will live as long as he will, who are as strong as he. Besides Mother would kill us if we kept him hidden from her. And I think you are wrong about Father. I think he will accept Harek once he knows the truth.”

“Perhaps, but it would only be because he is your son as well,” Loki sneered.

“Then it is decided. Harek will return to Asgard with us,” Thor stated.

“I’m not agreeing to anything yet. You must speak to Harek about it first, and see what he wants to do. The Bifrost is still broken. Returning to Midgard wouldn’t be easy if he wished to return,” Loki argued.

“I will speak with him,” Thor murmured.

Speaking with Harek suddenly seemed to be a much more daunting task than it had just an hour ago. He wouldn’t be speaking to his nephew anymore. He would be speaking to his son. Harek was his first and so far only child.

“Good, then afterwards bring him here. I wish to see him,” Loki commanded imperiously.

Thor knew Loki well enough to recognize the vulnerability in his eyes. Loki loved his son and being on uncertain terms with Harek had left Loki a little lost. Thor needed to find out just who Loki had been working with and who had been controlling him. It wasn’t just about protecting Loki, it was about protecting Harek. Whoever Loki had been working with would undoubtedly come back for revenge for Loki’s failure. Harek would be the perfect target as the youngest, and therefore the most vulnerable of Loki’s children. This was another good reason for Harek to return with them to Asgard. It would be the safest place for him.

The moment he stepped out of the room to go in search of Harek, Director Fury and his fellow Avengers ambushed him. Tony and Bruce had been attempting to keep them from entering the room to give Loki and he some much needed privacy to speak. Thor was grateful to have such friends to stand beside him.

“What in the hell is going on here?” Director Fury demanded.

“It is a private matter between my brother and I,” Thor stated firmly.

“Well, I want to know what Thing 1 and Thing 2 told you about your nephew that made you stomp down the hall to have a little heart to heart with your brother,” Fury’s eyes narrowed on him.

“I must speak to my… I must speak to Harek first,” Thor said firmly.

“You’re a guest on my helicarrier, in case you’ve forgotten. I deserve to know if something is going on that could possibly endanger the lives on this ship,” Fury growled.

“No one is in danger, of this I assure you. I will tell you more after I have spoken with Harek,” Thor remained firm.

“Fine,” Fury moved aside.

Thor moved quickly to Harek’s room only to open the door and find it empty. Irrational fear welled inside Thor. Had Loki’s enemies come for Harek already? Thor ran from the room and went sprinting down the hallway in search. He quickly came upon the group still milling about in the corridor.

“Harek is gone,” Thor shouted.

“Great,” Fury sighed then in a louder shout, “Search everywhere. I want the boy’s location discovered within ten minutes.”

Thor turned to go and search. Tony and Bruce fell in on either side of him.

“So is it true, Hammertime? Is the kid yours?” Tony whispered.

“It would appear so,” Thor admitted.

“Wow, talk about a story readymade for a soap opera. I mean having a kid with your adoptive brother when neither of you recognized or remembered the other one. I mean you couldn’t make that up,” Tony muttered.

“Tony,” Bruce hissed.

“Sorry, Thor, it’s just taking a bit for even my giant brain to wrap my mind around,” Tony apologized appropriately chastised.

“It is fine, my friend. I am having trouble accepting this as well,” Thor sighed.

“Let’s just focus on finding Harek, all right?” Bruce offered.

Thor nodded in agreement. The Director put the helicarrier on lockdown, which included landing the craft back into the water, and keeping all other aircrafts from landing or taking off. All of the doors were locked and each room would be checked thoroughly for any trace of Harek. Thor, Tony, and Bruce were about to split up when the three of them turned a corner only to run into Harek.

“Harek!” Thor cried in delight. Without thinking twice he quickly grabbed the boy up in a tight embrace.

“Thor?” Harek squirmed in discomfort within the tight grasp of his arms.

“Forgive me, I was worried about where you had gone,” Thor released the boy from his arms. But he kept his hands firmly on the boy’s shoulders. He had the irrational fear if he let him go he would disappear again.

“I was just in the toilet,” Harek said flushing red all the way to the tips to his ears.

Tony burst into laughter. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened. Fury locked down the whole base because the kid was taking a bathroom break. I can see his face now when he finds out. His eye is going to pop out of his head.”

“I thought you had run away or that you had been kidnapped,” Thor said somewhat sheepishly.

“You panicked worse than a soccer mom who forgot where she parked her minivan,” Tony added with a cheerful grin.

“It was understandable after the information he just received. He’s not in the best emotional state for rational thinking at the moment,” Bruce soothed.

“Sorry if you were worried,” Harek offered. “I didn’t think anyone would miss me. There wasn’t a bathroom in the room I was staying in so I went to look for one.”

“No, it’s fine, Harek. Perhaps, I was too quick to believe the worst had happened,” Thor admitted.

“Just a bit,” Tony murmured with a smirk.

“I suppose we should let Director Fury know that we have found you,” Thor rubbed at the back of his neck feeling more embarrassed than he had in a long time.

It was difficult for him to suddenly be face to face with Harek again now that he knew the truth of their relationship. He was no longer looking at his nephew. He was looking at his son. Thor really took the time to observe Harek. He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed before all of the similar features the two of them shared. At first glance Harek seemed to strongly resemble Loki but Thor could easily pick out features that he had gotten from himself. The shape of their chins and brows as well as the color of their eyes were very similar. Harek truly was his son. It would certainly make things easier that Harek already knew, no matter how much it hurt him that he had chosen to keep it a secret from him.

The four of them had just turned to head down the corridor to let the Director know they had found Harek when a loud siren went off. The siren was followed by a loud voice reverberating throughout the ship for all available agents to make their way to the deck and be prepared for a hostile enemy. They all looked at one another before Tony took off to grab his suit.

“Harek, go back to your room,” Thor commanded, convinced that Loki’s enemies had come to take Harek, and were now in the process of attacking the helicarrier.

“No, I think I know what’s going on. I may have accidentally called my brother. I was a bit upset and I forgot about the bracelet Loki gave to me call him,” Harek said embarrassedly.

“Your brother?” Bruce frowned.

A loud roar and the sounds of gunfire had all of their heads whipping in the direction of the helicarrier’s deck.

“That doesn’t sound promising,” Bruce muttered, furiously cleaning his glasses in an effort to calm his rising temper.

“I think we should get out there before someone gets hurt,” Harek said, and before Thor could argue Harek had taken off.

Bruce and Thor quickly followed, and soon the three of them had made their way out to the deck of the helicarrier. Bruce wanted to assess the situation for himself before unleashing the beast he carried within him. However, when they stepped outside and caught sight of the enemy that had come to visit them the Hulk might be just what they needed. He was certainly the only thing that might have been capable of putting a dent in something that was even larger than the flying leviathans the Chitauri had used.

Thor had never actually met his nephew Jormungandr. Everyone had worked hard to ensure that such a meeting never happened considering Jormungandr was prophesized to swallow him whole one day. Looking up at the giant sea beast, Thor couldn’t help but believe that such a thing could easily be possible. Jormungandr was a fierce thing with a head like a dragon, and thick armored scales set in a fiery hue. He was a lethal and deadly beast with wicked looking spikes curling down his spine. With only one tiny flick of his giant tail he could have easily crushed the helicarrier. Instead his immense head simply hovered over the ship. His large emerald eyes were locked on the figure of Harek who stood facing the serpent. They were conversing with each other in what was obviously a pleasant and familiar manner despite the increasing number of agents with weapons trained on Jormungandr.

“Put down your weapons!” Thor shouted, fear springing upside him at the thought that one of them might accidentally hit his son. The agents were shaking with terror at the sight of Jormungandr. One could very well lose control, and fire their weapon without meaning to. From the earlier sounds of gunfire he was sure that they were more than capable of open firing at any moment if they felt threatened. Thor pushed his way through the crowd to the front of the agents to be closer to his son.

“Do you not see the giant sea monster hovering over the side of my helicarrier?” Director Fury demanded from where he stood flanked by Natasha and Clint.

“He’s not a monster,” Harek snarled as he turned around to face them.

“Don’t worry, little brother, I’ve been called worse,” Jormungandr reassured, giving Harek a gentle nudge with his nose.

“Hello, nephew,” Thor greeted, cautiously moving closer to stand beside Harek.

“Hello uncle Thor, it is a pleasure to finally meet you,” Jormungandr replied, dipping his head.

“You mean no harm, correct?” Thor asked, simply for the mortals’ benefit. If Jormungandr meant to harm anyone he was fairly certain the sea serpent would have already capsized them.

“No, I only came because Harry was distressed,” Jormungandr’s large eyes regarded Harek with concern.

“Maybe you should take your human form, Jormungandr. I think it would calm everyone down a bit,” Harek suggested.

“Only if the humans swear not to harm me,” Jormungandr stated firmly.

They all looked to Director Fury.

“Jormungandr? As in the Midgardian Serpent, and Loki’s son?” the Director questioned.

“I don’t think there’s another giant snake with the same ridiculously long name lurking around here, Fury. Or at least I really hope not,” came Tony’s dry voice. He appeared hovering over them in his metal suit.

“Yes, Jormungandr is one of Loki’s older son’s,” Thor agreed in an effort to disperse tension. It was strange for him to attempt to take on the role of peacekeeper. He was normally the cause of most arguments in Asgard.

“As long as he doesn’t cause any trouble then we won’t have any reasons to attack him,” Fury finally stated.

At those words Jormungandr began to change, and fold in on himself. Soon a red haired man with familiar grin eyes, and an obvious resemblance to Loki was standing in place of the giant serpent. The tall, lean man immediately swooped Harek up in a tight hug that had the younger boy flushing in embarrassment.

“Huh, now that is something you don’t see every day,” Tony landed beside Thor.

“Do Midgardians not embrace their relatives?” Thor frowned.

Tony sighed. “No, Point Break, I meant the giant snake turning into a skinny ginger Loki.”

“Ah, yes, I was also unaware that Jormungandr was capable of shape-shifting,” Thor agreed.

Thor had believed one of the reasons behind his banishment was because he was incapable of changing his form, and therefore would have been unable to safely remain among Asgardians. It was a little shocking to discover that there was more to his nephew than the mindless beast he had been portrayed to be. It made Thor wonder about Loki’s other children.

Thor brought Jormungandr and Harek back to the room where Harek and he had conversed before. The Avengers and Director Fury followed them to keep a close eye on Loki’s older child. Thor understood that they had accepted Harek more readily because he was still just a boy. Jormungandr on the other was a millennia old sea beast, and was potentially much more dangerous.

“Now, Harry, why don’t you tell me what was bothering you so much for you to have unconsciously summoned me?” Jormungandr asked Harek once they had settled down.

Jormungandr had sat down beside Harek on the couch leaving Thor to sit across from them. The Avengers and the Director took up places around the three immortals trying to give them some semblance of privacy. Jormungandr easily ignored them as he placed an arm around Harek’s shoulders, and pulled the boy in close.

“Er, well… Loki sort of tried to take over Midgard. These people stopped him, and now he’s being held here as a prisoner,” Harek explained.

“What? No, he didn’t. He’d have to be completely insane to do something like that,” Jormungandr argued.

“Oh, he’s definitely a few shades shy of sane, Jormy,” Tony muttered.

Jormungandr shot the Man of Iron a dark glare reminiscent of Loki.

“My father isn’t stupid or crazy. Why would he want to rule Midgard? He hates mortals,” Jormungandr argued.

“We know, considering how many of us he killed a week ago,” Natasha stated dryly.

This seemed to finally make Jormungandr realize they were not playing a prank on him.

“I can’t believe he did this,” Jormungandr whispered. “No wonder you were so distraught. Why would he do this? It makes no sense. Have you spoken with him?”

“Yeah, but there was a lot he couldn’t say,” Harek replied.

“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?” Jormungandr questioned.

“Couldn’t, he said someone bound him or something like that,” Harek explained.

“Who would be powerful enough to bind Father?” Jormungandr wondered, gaze flicking to Thor in concern.

“I do not know. There are very few in this universe who would be powerful enough to control Loki,” Thor replied.

“Is that what he told you? That someone else was the one pulling the strings?” the Director demanded.

“Yes,” Thor admitted.

“And how do we know he’s not just lying? He’s kind of known for it,” Clint said disparagingly.

“Loki is many things but he is a good parent. He loves his children and would never willingly lie to them,” Thor said fiercely.

After everything Loki had done Thor would still defend his brother. For he knew Loki best, and he knew deep down that the brother he had grown up with was still in there somewhere. Loki might knowingly withhold the truth from his children to protect them but he would never lie to them. He would lie to everyone else and manipulate them to meet his own ends but never his children. If he had told Harek he was bound to secrecy then he was bound to secrecy. No matter his faults Loki loved his children above all else, and Thor would ensure that no one thought otherwise.

“You’re sure about this?” the Director insisted eyeing him shrewdly.

“I know Loki. I know he speaks the truth in this,” Thor swore.

“It doesn’t negate what he’s done, and he needs to be held responsible for it. But if there really is someone else out there who he was working with then they’re still free to try again, and we need to be prepared. We’re going to need to look into this further. We can’t be left in the dark again. If there’s the slightest chance of a threat to Earth we need to find it, and eliminate it,” the Director announced sternly. “Do you think there would be a way to get around this ‘binding’ of his so that he could give us more information?”

“I am not well versed in magic. It is possible that if my mother and father were to take a look they may be able to remove it. As soon as we know I can return to Midgard. Of course it would have to be after the Bifrost is restored,” Thor offered.

“Right, and that’s just wasting more time we may not have,” the Director muttered.

“I don’t think whoever attacked will do it right away. I mean we nuked their mother ship. I should know considering I was the one to send it at them,” Tony snorted.

“Tony’s right. They needed Loki for a reason. They needed him to get the Tesseract, and open the portal from this end for them to be able to reach Earth. Wherever they were coming from it was too far away for them to make the trip here. It will be a long time before they regroup enough to make their way back. If they even can without the Tesseract, and someone on the other side helping them out,” Bruce reasoned.

“Well, my motto is ‘better safe than sorry’. We need to be prepared. We were almost completely in the dark for all of this. I don’t want the same panic we had last time. So Thor whatever you can get out of Loki will be very much appreciated,” the Director ordered.

“Perhaps I could speak with him?” Jormungandr offered.

The Director’s scowl was all the answer that was necessary.

“I may be able to get more information from him. He won’t lie to me,” Jormungandr shrugged.

“Fine, but we’ll be sitting in,” the Director barked.

“As you wish,” Jormungandr smiled charmingly.

He stood to follow the Director from the room. Harek made to follow him but Thor held him back.

Harek sent him a questioning look as everyone else filed out of the room leaving the two of them alone.

“We must speak, Harek, and I think you know exactly what I wish to speak to you about,” Thor said gently.

Harek sat back down. Uncertainty and just a hint of fear flashed across his son’s features. Thor would do his best to put his son at ease for this conversation was necessary. Thor wanted a relationship with his son, and that could only happen once they were all aware of the truth. He was nervous about whether or not Harek would accept him but Thor would not back down. He was determined. The two of them would not leave this room until they had come to some sort of understanding.


	6. Tough Little Boy

“We must speak, Harek, and I think you know exactly what I wish to speak to you about,” Thor told him calmly.

Jormungandr, and the other Avengers had left to go and speak with Loki leaving Thor and Harry completely alone.

“Yeah, I probably do,” Harry admitted nervously as he glanced over at Thor.

This day had been a whirlwind for Harry. It was practically a family reunion for him with Loki, Thor, and Jormungandr all in one place. Harry knew when Thor left that Dr. Banner had told him about the results of his blood test. Harry had heard the god’s shouting as he went to confront Loki. Harry’s anxiety over Thor’s reaction had him nervously tugging at his bracelet, and unconsciously wishing that Jormungandr were there. His unconscious wish seemed to have been enough to summon his older brother, which of course only served to make things even more awkward. Harry had been hoping to at least use Jormungandr to his advantage of avoiding being alone with Thor. But the Thunder God was persistent, and didn’t seem like he was letting Harry out of his sight any time soon.

Harry was terrified of what Thor was about to say to him. This new anxiety only added to what had been building up inside him all day, and now a strange tingling was beginning to burn just beneath his skin. Harry did his best to focus on what Thor was saying to him.

 

“We are both now aware that I am your father,” Thor stated.

“Yes,” Harry nodded, unable to meet Thor’s gaze.

“All is well, I’m not angry with you. This knowledge has come as a shock to both of us, I’m sure. But rest assured, I am pleased to know of our relationship,” Thor said, smiling warmly, and surprising Harry with his sincerity.

Harry recalled how panicked Thor had been when he thought he’d gone missing. Thor had sent out a search party to look for him, and had the entire helicarrier locked down.

“You don’t think it’s strange?” Harry asked.

Harry had been utterly convinced that Thor was going to be disgusted by him, and would want nothing to do with him. He was still half convinced he would change his mind even though he had said otherwise.

“It is a difficult situation. Loki is my brother. Not by blood but we are brothers no matter how much he insists otherwise. I never would have intended to have a child with him. However, we do have a son, and I would like to get to know my son. I would like to get to know you. I wish to be your father if you will allow me the chance. I do not know how to be a father but I will do my best,” Thor insisted.

Harry stared at the god; feeling conflicted about what Thor had just admitted. He truly hadn’t been expecting Thor to want to be his father especially after learning about his turbulent relationship with Loki. Harry had been so certain of his rejection despite Loki’s reassurances to the contrary that he didn’t really know what to do now.

Harry supposed the important question for him to think over was did he want Thor to be his father? It wasn’t exactly Thor’s fault that he hadn’t been there for Harry when Voldemort attacked, or for him while he was growing up with the Dursleys. Thor hadn’t known about his existence, and now that he knew he seemed more than willing to accept Harry, no questions asked. It couldn’t be easy for him finding out he had a thirteen year old son, not to mention that son was also the child of your brother who recently tried to destroy you. It was easier for him to accept Loki because Loki was Lily. He had raised and loved Harry for the first fifteen months of his life, and a part of Harry seemed to intrinsically recognize him. Thor, on the other hand, had never been a part of his life before. However, Harry found himself wanting to give Thor a chance.

Harry couldn’t help but felt a bit guilty, though. James Potter had been willing to raise him as his son, and had even died for him. But at the same time Harry didn’t remember James. All his life he had dreamed of having his parents alive. He had grown up watching his classmates’ interactions with their parents; the way they loved them, took them places, and taught them things. Harry had watched Dudley’s interactions with his parents from the isolation of his cupboard. There had been so many times he had wished for the same approval, for the same affection. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had praised everything Dudley did. They loved him unconditionally, no matter what he did, or how he had behaved. Harry had craved the same approval but no matter how good he behaved or how quickly he completed his chores he was never good enough for his aunt and uncle.

Hogwarts had given him some sense of acceptance. It had settled the empty ache inside of him for a bit, enough so the feeling wasn’t constantly nagging at him. But it never truly went away, and this was made abundantly clear when he returned to the Dursleys for the summer and his friends went home with their families. His loneliness and a desire for a place to belong always bothered him more during his months of isolation and torment with the Dursleys. Loki’s appearance had made those feelings disappear. The revelation that he had more family out there just waiting for him to come across their paths was awe-inspiring. He had a family that was just his. He wasn’t intruding like the way he had always felt with Dursleys and even sometimes felt when he’d gone to stay with the Weasleys last summer.

Now, being face to face with Thor, his biological father, it was terrifying. What if Harry didn’t live up to Thor’s expectations? What if Thor didn’t live up to his? Not that Harry had a lot of expectations considering he’d grown up with stories about how his father had killed his mother in a drunken automobile accident.

“Harek?” Thor questioned in concern.

Harry realized he’d been caught up in his thoughts, and the silence had stretched between them for too long.

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” Harry murmured.

His feelings of anxiety were continuing to rise up inside him, and threatened to turn into a full on panic attack. He was holding onto the chaotic swirling of his emotions by a thread.

The bright hopeful look in Thor’s eyes had dimmed a bit, and the large blonde god’s shoulders had slumped. It was then that Harry realized just how much this meant to Thor, and how much Thor wanted Harry to accept their relationship. He was disappointed now that he thought Harry didn’t want him around.

“I see, I do not wish to force this relationship upon you,” Thor rumbled softly.

“I’ve never had a dad before so I don’t know if I’d be a good son either,” Harry explained. He really didn’t want to hurt Thor even after knowing him for such a short time.

Thor beamed. “I’m sure you will be the finest of sons. I have already been impressed with your bravery and kindness.”

Harry flushed at Thor’s declaration, and didn’t know how to respond to such a statement. The god didn’t even know Harry. He could very well change his mind. Harry’s control slipped a bit, and he felt a warmth tingle through his fingertips. He glanced down to see frost spreading across the couch where his hands were rested. Harry covertly shifted in hopes that Thor didn’t notice. It worried him a little that his tumultuous emotions were causing him to perform some accidental magic, and it worried him even more because he had never formed frost before.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth when I had the chance. I didn’t know how you would react. I thought it would just be better if I kept it a secret, instead of having to face your rejection,” Harry admitted, trying desperately to get a rein on his magic.

“I would never reject you, Harek. I would never reject any child of mine. I always hoped to one day have children of my own. I am saddened that we have missed your early years together but there will be many, many more to come,” Thor gripped Harry’s shoulder surprising Harry with the contact. Thor seemed to be a very touch oriented person. Harry wasn’t used to it.

Thor suddenly drew back sharply. He looked to his hands, which had turned a bright red.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked worriedly.

Thor smiled, “I am fine it was only a little sting. Are you all right? Your skin is freezing.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know why it happened,” Harry panicked, which only caused more frost to spread.

“It is all right, Harek. You need only calm yourself. I am not well versed in magic but in our youth Loki’s emotions always triggered burst of uncontrollable magic. I was often the cause and the target of such outbursts so I learned the tricks necessary to calm him,” Thor chuckled.

“How can you laugh when I hurt you?” Harry asked.

“Hurt me? My son, it would take much more than that to hurt me, and I know it was not intentional,” Thor shrugged.

Harry gave a startled laugh at Thor’s easy dismissal of the occurrence. He tried to take Thor’s advice and took a deep breath before releasing it again. His breath caused the air to frost.

“Loki will be able to help you more with your magic,” Thor said uncertainly.

“He has been teaching me a bit. But nothing to do with any ice abilities,” Harry told Thor.

“You have inherited a Jotun’s abilities to control ice. They can create weapons and the more powerful can create living sculptures of ice. Loki is only newly aware of his true heritage, and I do not think he has entirely accepted it yet.”

“What about you? Loki gave me a book about the history of Asgard and the Nine Realms. Frost Giants aren’t exactly the most popular people,” Harry said uncertainly.

“I do not care if Loki is a Frost Giant. I do not care that you are half. Loki is my brother and you are my son that is all that matters,” Thor pledged.

“That’s a really weird statement when you think about it in context. But then everything sounds odd when talking about how we’re related,” Harry joked hoping to lighten the mood.

Thor laughed. “I do not think it will ever not be strange.”

Harry supposed he would just have to learn to accept his parents’ very strange and infinitely complicated relationship. It was just going to take him awhile.

“Loki and I will be returning to Asgard soon. I would like you to come with us,” Thor offered suddenly.

“I don’t know,” Harry was stunned by the offer.

The thought of leaving Earth for an entirely new world was terrifying. Harry had never even been out of Surrey until he’d gone to Hogwarts. How could he just leave behind everything he’d ever known? What about his friends at Hogwarts? He had only become reacquainted with Loki just a month and half ago, and he’d just met Thor today. How could he just go off with them? Of course that hadn’t stopped Harry from going off to Hogwarts. He’d barely known anything about the wizarding world before he decided to join it with only the knowledge that his parents had belonged to the same world. But Harry was older now, and his experiences at Hogwarts had served to make him a bit more cautious. On the other hand Thor and Loki were his parents, and he didn’t want to just be separated from them after being reunited with both of them for the first time.

“I understand that this is a difficult decision, you must have friends in this realm. I too have friends here that I will miss. However, accompanying us to Asgard now does not mean that you can never return to Midgard. It might take a little while before we can return. The Bifrost was destroyed during an earlier altercation between Loki and myself. With the Tesseract it will speed up the process of rebuilding it, and then we may come visit whenever you wish,” Thor reassured him.

The thought of being trapped on Asgard gave Harry pause. What if things didn’t work out with rebuilding the bridge and he was trapped there? What about all of his friends at Hogwarts? He couldn’t just abandon them. What about his magical education? But then Harry wasn’t actually a wizard. All of his magic came from Loki who was in fact a Frost Giant. Although, Harry had still been capable of performing all of the same magic that a normal witch or wizard could. Didn’t that mean that Harry would be capable of remaining at Hogwarts, and continuing to learn magic with witches and wizards? Harry didn’t know the answers to any of these questions. What it really came down to was the choice between getting to know his parents, and returning to his friends at Hogwarts.

He always thought Hogwarts would be the only chance he’d have for a home, and the people there had become the closest he’d ever get to having family. Loki’s appearance in his life, and the secret he revealed had changed everything. It had opened Harry’s eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities for him. Suddenly he wasn’t confined to just going to Hogwarts, and maybe one day defeating Voldemort. He had other options. Harry was the son of two gods, and he would live for a very long time. He had the time to accomplish whatever he wanted. It was terrifying but also exhilarating.

Loki was going to be taken back to Asgard as a prisoner. Could Harry really just sit around while he was punished? He hadn’t entirely forgiven Loki for what he had done but Loki was still his parent. A parent that obviously loved him, and Harry didn’t want to see him punished with whatever sentence Asgard would dish out to him. He wanted to be there for Loki to speak up on his behalf.

“Okay, I’ll go,” Harry said before he could talk himself out of it.

A huge grin stretched over Thor’s features. Harry yelped in shock as he was swept up into Thor’s massive arms for the second time that day, and crushed to his broad chest.

“I am so pleased to know that you will return with us, my son. I cannot wait to introduce you to my friends! The Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are my oldest and dearest friends. They will be so surprised but thrilled to discover I have a son. And your grandparents! They will love you! Mother has always wanted grandchildren to spoil. She has been pestering Loki and I for several centuries to give her grandchildren,” Thor enthused.

Harry wished he was capable of being half as happy as Thor seemed to be all the time.

“I bet she wasn’t expecting to get them this way,” Harry muttered.

Thor paused gaping at Harry before dissolving into thundering chuckles. “No, I suppose she wasn’t.”

“When are we going to leave? I have some things I would like to bring with me, and I should probably let Hogwarts know I won’t be back this year,” the statement sent a pang of sadness through him.

Harry really did love Hogwarts, and all of its little oddities. He would certainly miss Ron and Hermione not to mention his other friends, and even some of the professors. But the chance to be with his parents was a little bit too tempting for him to pass up.

“Perhaps you may return next year?” Thor offered.

“I don’t know if it works like that. But maybe…” Harry shrugged.

“Either way, we will make sure that you remain in touch with your friends,” Thor promised.

“Right, okay. Er… so when do you plan on leaving again?” Harry would have liked to tell his friends face to face about where he was going so that he didn’t just disappear. He didn’t think owls would be able to reach him in Asgard, and he didn’t want them to think he’d died or been kidnapped.

“We should return as soon as we are able. The device that will allow us to travel back to Asgard has already been crafted, and with the Tesseract to power it we can leave whenever we wish,” Thor informed him.

“Oh, all right,” Harry was dazed by the thought that they could possibly leave for Asgard today.

“We won’t leave until you are ready. We can go together now to collect your things and say your goodbyes,” Thor offered solemnly.

“Yeah, that would be good,” Harry nodded.

“Wonderful! Let us depart. I will fly us there,” Thor boomed, clasping a hand to Harry’s shoulder.

“You can fly?” Harry asked attempting to remember the details from the attack on New York.

“With the aid of Mjolnir, yes,” Thor said proudly as he herded Harry from the room.

“I love to fly,” Harry confided. “Although, I’ve only ever flown on a broom.”

“A broom?” Thor questioned in confusion.

“Wizards have a sport called Quidditch. They play it on flying brooms high above the ground. They have different positions and different types of balls. I play the Seeker. I’m the youngest to do so in a century,” Harry couldn’t help but boast. Flying was definitely one area that he was quite proud of his skills.

“You must tell me more!” Thor insisted, actually appearing interested.

Happy to have a captivated audience Harry began to explain the rules as the two of them continued to walk down the hallway.

“So once the Seeker catches the snitch the—”

“Wait!” Thor shouted cutting Harry off.

Harry looked over at him in confusion.

“I had almost forgotten. I promised Loki to bring you to speak with him after we had spoken. I believe he wanted to make sure you were all right after our conversation,” Thor explained.

“Right, do you think he’s still talking with Jormungandr?” Harry wondered.

“We shall see,” Thor replied steering him back in the other direction.

They quickly made their way back to the room where the holding cell that contained Loki was located. Jormungandr and Loki were engaged in a heated argument, which was causing tension among the Avengers and the SHIELD agents who were observing their argument.

“—don’t understand what is you speak off,” they heard Loki snap as they entered. The God of Mischief was clearly angry.

“I understand enough,” Jormungandr retorted.

“Are we interrupting?” Thor butted in.

“No, your brother hasn’t given up any more information than he’s already told you. In fact he’s given up even less, and I think its time they had a break from one another before tempers get any hotter,” the Fury replied dryly.

Jormungandr rolled his eyes and turned to exit the room. “Fine, I’m through with him anyway.”

“Don’t think that you can walk away from me!” Loki snarled.

“Whatever you say, Father,” Jormungandr rolled his eyes.

Loki loosed a hissing breath as he attempted to rein in his temper.

“Goodbye for now, Harry. You know where to find me if you need me, okay?” Jormungandr smiled as he walked by.

“All right. Bye,” Harry replied, confused, and a little hurt that Jormungandr was just taking off like this.

“Harry,” Loki greeted, his anger seemingly melting away as if it had never happened. He smiled warmly at Harry.

“Er… Loki,” Harry smiled back.

It was awkward interacting with Loki knowing that the two of them had an audience. Thor must have thought so too because he quickly shooed everyone else out. Fury and Mr. Stark went reluctantly while the others were all too eager to get away from the Asgardian drama. Harry wished he could too. But considering he was the cause of most of the Asgardian drama he figured he wasn’t going to be able to avoid it anytime soon.

“Harry has decided to return with us to Asgard,” Thor announced happily.

A look of fear flashed across Loki’s face. “Are you certain, Harek? You would have to leave school and your friends behind. I know how much they mean to you.”

“I want to go with you and Thor. I don’t want to lose you only after just finding you,” Harry replied firmly.

“We cannot guarantee your safety in Asgard,” Loki worried.

“I have already told you, Loki, that I will guarantee his safety,” Thor insisted.

“You cannot stop the All-Father if he wants to lock my son away in some cave for the rest of his life,” Loki snarled.

“I would not let such a thing happen,” Thor argued.

“You let it happen to Fenris. My poor boy doomed to be chained to a rock for all eternity. Would you doom Harek to such a fate as well? Fenris wasn’t much older than Harek is now when Odin had Tyr bind him to that rock with an unbreakable dwarven forged chain,” Loki shouted enraged.

“He won’t Loki. I swear on my life that he won’t. I only have Harek’s best interest in mind. If I thought he was in danger I would not bring him,” Thor swore.

“You really think Odin would do that to me?” Harry worried.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Thor and Loki spoke at the time.

“He is your grandfather. He will not harm you,” Thor put his hands on Harry’s shoulders, and looked him directly in the eyes. It was strange looking in Thor’s eyes and seeing his own reflecting back at him.

Thor seemed so earnest in his belief of the good in Odin while Loki seemed equally determined to believe the worst of him. Who did Harry trust? He felt like they were putting him in the middle of the two of them, and he really didn’t want to pick a side.

Harry looked beseechingly at Loki. The green-eyed god’s features softened a bit in the face of Harry’s distress.

“To be fair, Odin will be much less likely to harm you than your siblings because the two of you actually share blood, and Mo—Frigga will be quite eager to meet you,” Loki conceded.

“I would still like to go,” Harry said softly.

Thor smiled. “We are going to collect Harek’s things from his relatives, and then tomorrow after Harek has gotten the chance to say goodbye to his friends, we may depart to Asgard.”

“Very well,” Loki waved Thor away imperiously.

“I will inform the others of our plans, and then we can leave, Harek,” Thor exited the room leaving Harry and Loki alone for a few moments.

“Why don’t you want me to go to Asgard?” Harry asked.

“I fear how you will be treated there because of my own mistakes. You will branded as a traitor’s son,” Loki replied concern etched in the line of his face.

“Will they hate me because I’m yours and Thor’s son?” Harry worried.

The reactions of the Asgardians were definitely something he should have considered earlier. What if they utterly hated him? But then Harry had been hated before. He’d grown up with the constant hate of the Dursleys, the neighbors, and his primary school teachers and classmates. Even last year at Hogwarts half of the school had turned against him. At least he would have Thor and Loki. Their support would be more support than he’d had growing up.

“They will get over that quickly enough. It will be a shock but they will adapt quickly. They are an ancient and long-lived race. There is very little that they have not encountered before. No, they are more likely to be distant because you are my son while others will love you because you are Thor’s son. Frigga is sure to fawn over you,” Loki shrugged.

“She’s my grandmother, right?” Harry asked in interest. In was strange to think he had grandparents as well as parents now.

“Yes, she is a great woman,” Loki murmured softly.

“Why were you and Jormungandr fighting?” Harry asked to change the subject. Loki looked so sad when he thought of Frigga.

Before he could answer Thor returned. They said their goodbyes to Loki, and prepared for their flight to Little Whinging. Thor gripped Harry tightly with one arm looped around his chest while Harry clasped his hands around his neck. Thor lifted his very impressive hammer and began to swing it. Without warning the two of them shot into the air. Harry gasped as they shot over the water at speeds not even his Nimbus would be able to reach. Once he realized Thor wasn’t about to drop him, Harry enjoyed the ride. There was nothing quite like the freedom of zooming through the air. He and Thor shared identical grins as they shared one another’s appreciation for flying.

With Mjolnir’s speed it didn’t take them long to touch down in a field just outside of Privet Drive. The two of them walked the rest of the way. Harry wondered idly how the Dursleys were going to react when they were confronted with the very large God of Thunder dressed in blue and silver leather armor. Thor only seemed to wear his long red cape and silver arm plating when he was in full battle mode. Harry couldn’t help but grin at the at the thought of just how many different colors Vernon was sure to turn at the sight of Thor.

It felt surreal to Harry as he led Thor up to the door of Number 4, and brought him right inside.

“Boy! Where have you…” Aunt Petunia’s shrieking trailed off when she caught sight of Thor standing behind Harry.

“Aunt Petunia this is Thor, my biological father. Thor this is my Aunt Petunia who I’ve lived with for the past few years,” Harry introduced awkwardly.

“Well met Lady Petunia, I am Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard. I am Harek’s father, and I am here to take him back with me to the Realm Eternal, Asgard,” Thor declared loudly in greeting.

Aunt Petunia clearly had no idea how to respond to such a claim so for once in her life she wisely remained silent.

“I’ll be right back, Thor, I just have to grab a couple of things from my room, and the rest of my stuff is down here,” Harry explained darting up the stairs before Thor could offer to come up with him. He didn’t want Thor to see the locks on his bedroom door.

Harry swiftly pulled up the floorboard containing his prized possessions. He had his photo album, his wand, his invisibility cloak, and the knife Loki had given him. Harry packed all of the nicer clothing Loki had gotten him in duffle bag along with his other things. He gladly left Dudley’s ragged old clothing behind. He also released Hedwig. He would have to ask Thor about whether or not it would be safe to bring her along. He couldn’t imagine leaving her behind but he supposed she could stay with Hermione until he came back to Earth.

By the time Harry came back downstairs Vernon and Dudley had waddled out to see what all the commotion was about. Marge didn’t seem to be around or else she had drunk too much already and had passed out in the guest room.

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my home? Are you one of _their_ lot?” Vernon roared already turning red to purple.

Thor looked a bit startled by Vernon’s obvious vehemence but he replied firmly, “I am Thor, Prince of Asgard. I have come to retrieve my son’s belongings.”

“Son?” Vernon frowned momentarily distracted by his own confusion.

“Yes, Harek is my son,” Thor said, smiling widely in relief at seeing Harry descending the staircase.

“You’re the one from the telly. An Avenger. Mum, dad, he’s Thor the God of Thunder!” Dudley cried in awe.

Vernon’s face began to molt from purple to a variety of different colors as his slow mind worked to finally understand just who had entered his home.

“You mean you’re the boy’s real father?” Petunia asked shrewdly ignoring her husband and son’s gawping.

“I am,” Thor said proudly.

“And you’ll be taking him?” Petunia questioned closely.

“Yes… I understand if you would not wish to be parted with him. But I am his father and I would like to take him with me. Perhaps he could come vis—” Thor was cut off.

“Oh, no that won’t be necessary. Of course you can take him. A boy deserves to be with this father after all,” Petunia agreed suddenly amicable now that she knew she would soon be rid of Harry.

“You require no proof?” Thor frowned.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re trustworthy. You were on the telly after all. Wonderful work you did in America. You’re a hero to the entire world,” Petunia waved away Thor’s concern.

Thor seemed to be confused with Petunia’s utter lack of concern.

“Very well then. We shall retrieve the rest of Harek’s belongings, and then we will be off,” Thor said slowly, clearly dumbfounded by the Dursley’s easy dismissal.

“Wonderful. Isn’t that wonderful Vernon?” Petunia practically cheered.

“We’ll finally be rid of the freak,” Vernon agreed.

Petunia elbowed Vernon and shot him a vicious glare.

“What did you call him?” Thor growled, and thunder flashed ominously in the distance as Thor raised Mjolnir.

“I… we…” Vernon stuttered in the face of Thor’s obvious power.

“You dare call my son, a prince of Asgard, such a foul name you swine?” Thor demanded.

Vernon really was a coward when it came down to it. Harry just wished he had realized this earlier in life. Vernon hated magic so much because he feared it, and he feared it so much because it was a force he didn’t understand. It was obvious that he feared Thor. He’d seen what Thor could do on the news. Not only could he summon lightning but he was physically much stronger and more durable than a normal human. Vernon may not like it but even his small mind recognized when not to antagonize a being much stronger than himself any further than he already had.

Or maybe not.

“He’s been nothing but trouble since the day we got him. We’ve suffered his strangeness for years,” Vernon spat.

“You tiny, small minded mortal! I have crushed creatures that were thrice your size, and half as loathsome as you. I will smite you!” Thor raised Mjolnir threateningly.

Part of him really would have liked to see Thor smite Vernon into a pile of ash but he figured he should probably stop Thor from murdering Vernon. If only to keep the public from accusing Thor of murder. With the dark expression on his face, Harry was fairly certain that he actually would have done it.

“Thor, let’s just leave,” Harry begged.

“I will not let these mortals get away with such horrible treatment of you,” Thor growled.

“You can’t just hit him with Mjolnir either. He’s mortal, he would die, and you’d be a murderer,” Harry argued.

“Mayhaps you are right,” Thor glared, and reluctantly lowered Mjolnir.

The Dursleys fled to hide upstairs before Thor changed his mind, and Harry went to grab his trunk. The door to the cupboard under the stairs was locked. But Harry took a vicious sort of pleasure in yanking the door right off of the hinges. He was a bit too enthusiastic about it because he accidently pulled so hard that he sent it through the opposite wall where it got stuck.

Harry and Thor shared a look. Neither of them was overly concerned about ruining the Dursley’s property. Harry pulled out his trunk, which felt significantly lighter than he remembered it being when he carried it home at the beginning of the summer. It was a stark reminder that Harry had changed a great deal this summer. He was practically a different person all together.

Thor slung an arm across Harry’s shoulders as they exited Number 4, hugging him close. Harry took comfort in the side embrace, grateful for the physical comfort. Thor’s obvious strength made Harry feel safe. It was as if no one could touch him while Thor was there. He wondered if that was what having a father actually felt like. If so, Harry rather liked it.

Thor paused before they returned back to the helicarrier. He hefted Mjolnir, sent a dark glare at the house, and brought the hammer down on Vernon’s company car. Harry gaped as Thor gave the car several more whacks until the vehicle was completely flattened, leaving a huge crater in the middle of the driveway.

Harry burst into a fit of laughter. Thor grinned back before a serious expression overtook his features.

“You will never have to stay with those wretched mortals again,” Thor promised.

“Thanks,” Harry murmured.

“If you have any wish to discuss their treatment of you, I will listen,” Thor offered, hesitantly.

“Maybe later,” Harry said having no intention of telling Thor about the Dursleys. They were behind him now and he didn’t want to waste anymore of his life by so much as thinking about the Dursleys.

“If they have harmed you, I will see them punished for their crimes,” Thor swore.

“They just don’t like me. They never hurt me,” at least not physically, Harry added mentally.

“Very well,” Thor replied looking uncertain of what to do in this situation, which Harry used to his advantage.

“How are we going to fly back to the helicarrier?” Harry indicated his large trunk and Hedwig.

“I will hold your trunk under one arm, and you can climb onto my back,” Thor decided. “Your pet may fly there herself. It is not that far.”

“Right, okay,” Harry agreed.

“Would you like me to kneel down?” Thor offered already crouching a bit.

“Er… all right,” Harry clumsily clambered onto Thor’s back.

It was probably one of the most awkward things Harry had ever done. No one had ever given him a piggyback ride before. He’d seen some of the other children from primary school get ones from their fathers when they’d come to pick their children up from school. He had often wished that he had a father who would come to pick him up from school, and swing him up into their arms. He was pretty sure getting a piggyback ride from his father was much more awkward now that he was thirteen.

Despite Harry’s new, greater weight Thor didn’t seem at all burdened by it. He swung Mjolnir around quickly and took to the air just as quickly as he did before. Hedwig hooted and tried to keep up but the owl was incapable of keeping pace with the speed Mjolnir set. Harry was confident that Hedwig would find her way back to him. She was the most intelligent bird Harry had ever seen.

It wasn’t long before Thor and Harry spotted the helicarrier. But it soon became apparent that something had happened in their absence. Billows of smoke rose up from the side of the helicarrier, and it looked like an entire chunk had been taken out of the side of it. Agents and the Avengers were swarming around trying to keep the helicarrier from sinking into the sea.

Thor set Harry and his trunk down near Fury who was barking orders at everyone.

“Director, what has happened here?” Thor demanded.

“I’ll tell you what happened here. Your damn brother,” he pointed an accusing finger at Harry, “Bit a hole in the side of my helicarrier so that he could free your damn brother.” The angry finger was turned on Thor.

“But Jormungandr and Loki were feuding,” Thor looked confused.

“That’s what they wanted us to think,” the Black Widow explained as she materialized at their sides. She was soaking wet and looked a little banged up but other than that she was in one piece, and just as stoic as she usually was.

“They wanted to lead you into a false sense of security so you would let your guards down, and Jormungandr would be able to help Loki escape. If you thought they were fighting you wouldn’t think of Jormungandr as a threat to freeing Loki,” Harry realized.

“Were you in on it?” Fury demanded his dark eye swinging towards Harry accusingly.

“No,” Harry glared. He was actually a little put out that he wasn’t let in on the plan.

“Harek is innocent of such knowledge,” Thor declared, offended on Harry’s behalf.

“Sure he is. But all the same I think I’m going to keep my eye on you,” Fury replied.

“We must find Loki. I cannot return to Asgard without him,” Thor stated.

“We all have to find Loki before the lunatic decides to try for a second act of destroying the world. First we have to keep the helicarrier from sinking into the goddamn ocean long enough for us to get air born,” Fury snapped.

“Of course,” Thor took off towards the hole in the side of the helicarrier to help Iron Man and Captain America patch up the side.

Harry would have liked to help but he was pretty sure such skills were beyond the realm of his capabilities at the moment. So he sat down on his trunk to wait. Harry was confident that they would be able to fix the helicarrier enough for them to take to the air again. Today was easily one of the longest days of his life, and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. He’d semi-made up with Loki. He’d met his father for the first time, and his father now knew of his existence. The two of them had decided they wanted to get to know each other. Harry had decided to go to Asgard. And now it looked like he wouldn’t be going to Asgard anytime soon because Loki had escaped. Harry couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to do now.

Harry felt more than a little lost. A part of him understood that Loki needed to escape while he had the chance. He didn’t want Loki to go to Asgardian prison even if he probably deserved it. But Harry was worried about him. What if the ones who had been controlling him found him while he was alone? Thor would have to focus his attention on finding Loki now. Harry wanted to help him search but at the same time he didn’t because if Thor found him than he would bring Loki back to Asgard for his punishment. Some kids had divorced parents. Harry got parents that were quarreling adopted brothers who were practically enemies.

Just when he was really starting to feel despondent Hedwig landed on his shoulder. The snowy owl hooted, and promptly bit him on the ear. It didn’t hurt like it used to but it strangely made Harry feel better. He stroked her feathers as the helicarrier slowly began to rise into the air.

Thor approached where he sat, dripping wet and a huge grin on his face.

“Come Harek, let us enjoy a meal with my fellow Avengers. The flying craft has been saved, and you have had a most taxing day.”

“What about Asgard? What are we going to do now?” Harry worried.

“We can decide later, for now let us feast, and relax,” Thor wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

“You’re getting me all wet,” Harry laughed.

“My apologies,” Thor grinned and shook out his long hair like a dog sending more saltwater all over him.

Harry laughed harder and pushed Thor away, making his way towards the entrance to the helicarrier. Thor scooped up his trunk and followed him inside.


	7. A Tale of Two Convicts

Loki groaned as he was dropped unceremoniously onto a rock-strewn beach.

“Was it really necessary to carry me in your mouth?” Loki glared up at his son’s grinning, sharp-toothed visage. Loki’s brow wrinkled as he attempted to wipe the saliva off his armor.

“That went better than expected,” Jormungandr ignored him. “They didn’t even try to mount a party to come after us.”

“I think they were too busy trying to keep their metal craft from sinking,” Loki grinned.

Loki and Jormungandr’s escape plan had gone off perfectly. As soon as Jormungandr entered the room where SHIELD had been holding him the two of them had been able to silently communicate through gestures to create a course of action. Thor taking Harry from the ship had been perfect for their plan. Loki and Jormungandr wouldn’t have to worry about Harry getting hurt when Jormungandr freed him. Loki also didn’t want Harek to be a part of their plan for SHIELD would certainly persecute him if they even suspected something. They were a paranoid bunch, and their mistrust of him would easily extend to his child. Loki was confident that it wouldn’t take long for them to be reunited. Loki had a plan, a plan that had not included returning to Asgard as a prisoner, and he certainly hadn’t wanted his little boy to face Odin’s judgment. Perhaps Odin wouldn’t have harmed him because Harek was his own flesh and blood. Loki wasn’t willing to take that chance. There were far too many other instances where Odin had proved his unwillingness to accept any child of Loki.

“So what now father? We’ve left Harek behind with uncle Thor. How will you retrieve him?” Jormungandr wanted to know.

“The Other, the one who… _employed_ me,” Loki spat. “He cannot reach Midgard now. At least not for a very long time. Not without a portal, so for the time being I need not worry about him. For now I need to hide myself and recuperate. I am not fully healed from my time with the Other and the Chitauri. The damage from that infernal green beast set back my recovery not to mention the months of energy that went into putting off their demands to opening the doorway so I could spend time with Harry.”

“What did they to do to you, father?” Jormungandr asked in concern.

“It is not your concern, Jor,” Loki waved him away.

“You are my father, if you were harmed or tortured I deserve to know,” Jormungandr growled.

“Yes, I am your father, and it is not your duty to worry about me. It is a parent’s job to take care of their child not the other way around,” Loki argued. He loathed feeling like an incompetent parent. He had missed all of his children’s childhoods. Loki wanted to make up for lost time by not missing any more time with Harry.

“We will see those who wronged you punished. I may not be as skilled or as knowledgeable as you are in magic but even I can see there was damage done to your magic. There are scars in your aura. I have never seen such things before. What sorts of tortures did they submit you too?” Jormungandr asked softly.

“Another time, Jor,” Loki replied, too tired to argue with his son.

Loki was grateful to have his children’s support but he was not yet ready to share the torments he had suffered. The weakness he had experienced while being under the mercy of someone else had been awful, and humiliating to Loki. He was too ashamed to relive the moments where he had been overpowered.

“As you wish,” Jormungandr agreed, watching him with cautious eyes.

“I know just where to go into hiding. Incidentally it will also bring me closer to Harek,” Loki smiled.

Jormungandr regarded him shrewdly. “You will return to your form as Lily Potter? Won’t Odin recognize you?”

“Odin is in Asgard. The Bifrost is destroyed, and without the Tesseract to aid them it will take them many years to rebuild the bridge, and Heimdall will not be able to see through the wards of Hogwarts. The mortals know nothing about the wizarding world. Not even SHIELD with all of its spies has been able to uncover the truth of the wizarding world yet. I would be effectively hidden among the wizards,” Loki replied confidently.

“And what of Thor?” Jormungandr questioned. “He knows you in that form.”

“It will be a simple matter to keep him ignorant of my being among the wizards. He will be far too busy looking for me to notice me hiding in plain sight. Thor knows little of the wizarding world. He would not think to look for me there, knowing that I had been declared dead in that world. Besides if Thor did find out and came to take me away the wizards would seek to stop him. Of course they could not stop him completely. However, they could halt him long enough for me to escape,” Loki replied.

“If you say so,” Jormungandr didn’t look the least bit convinced. “I still say it would be smarter to simply remain invisible all together.”

Loki glared. Yes, he recognized perhaps it would be the better option to remain completely in the shadows but Loki thrived on a bit of danger and chaos. He was willing to take the risk. This was the only way he could truly be with Harry without constantly being on the run or having to worry about Thor’s interference. The wards wizards provided would hide him effectively without him draining his own weakened abilities to put up his own wards to hide from Heimdall’s gaze. There were many loose ends he needed to tie up in the wizarding world. He also had many good memories of his time among them, better than some of the ones he held of Asgard. Loki wanted the chance to be back among them, to once again belong somewhere. Magic was considered a weak pursuit among Asgardians but among the wizards magical strength was respected and revered. Loki knew he wouldn’t be able to stay long before he was discovered but hopefully staying in a magic rich environment would aid him in speeding up his healing process.

“And how will you explain your miraculous resurrection to the wizards?” Jormungandr asked skeptically.

“I won’t. That’s the thing about wizards such strange occurrences are part of their everyday life. Once I provide a sample of my blood, which will be the same as the sample the goblins have on record, they will have all the proof they need to know that I am who I say I am.”

“When Odin removed your powers he couldn’t change the fundamental structure of your DNA so your blood as Lily was the same as it is now,” Jormungandr nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, and with a little manipulation my magical signature will be the same. After all the magic I had as a witch came from my own residual power that Odin couldn’t quite remove completely. The wizards will hardly bat an eye at my return once they have that evidence,” Loki grinned.

He could suppress his magic beneath impressive barriers that the mortals wouldn’t be able to sense. It would be made easier because at the moment his magical energy was running low anyway. The wizards would be able to sense a portion of his magical aura without them seeing the full affect and becoming too suspicious over his incredible magical strength.

“What should I do?” Jormungandr questioned.

“Find Harry, stay close to him, and tell him to return to Hogwarts. Don’t tell him about my plan. I want it to be a surprise. Thor won’t be returning to Asgard without me but I have no doubt he will not wish to relinquish Harry. My only chance to get close to him is if he goes to Hogwarts, far, far away from Thor and the Avengers,” Loki replied.

“I took a chunk out of their boat, I don’t think they’re going to let me anywhere near them or Harry anytime soon,” Jormungandr said sarcastically.

“No, but I don’t think they would notice a harmless little snake, and Harry will hide you,” Loki smirked.

“You mean to shrink me? If you transfigure me and then I go on land I’ll be stuck in the form of an ordinary snake until I return to the seas,” Jormungandr complained.

“Yes, a large and venomous snake who will also benefit from the protection of his brother,” Loki argued.

“Yes, my _younger_ brother who doesn’t have the slightest grasp on his newly developing powers,” Jormungandr growled.

“If you wish to help me, you will watch over your younger brother for me until I have secured my place in the wizarding world,” Loki argued.

“Fine, do what you must. I will keep an eye on Harry,” Jormungandr agreed sullenly.

“Good,” Loki wasted no time in transforming Jormungandr.

The great red sea serpent was now a much more manageable three-foot long reddish brown viper. Loki teleported Jormungandr back to the helicarrier so he would be able to meet up with Harry once he returned. Loki’s next stop was seeking out a familiar face. Loki had noticed another presence during his visits with Harry in the park. It had taken him a little while but he finally had figured just who that presence was, and Loki was going to find him. He owed him that much.

Loki teleported himself to Little Whinging, and set about searching for the familiar presence. It wasn’t hard before he discovered the large, mangy black dog rummaging through a garbage bin for scraps.

Loki conjured Sirius’s favorite meal.

“Here, doggie,” he called softly.

The dog turned, it’s familiar gray eyes looking him over. The dog sidled closer to catch a better scent of the food.

Sirius cautiously approached and Loki crouched down to allow him to eat the food.

“Now, Sirius, I think the two of us really need to have a conversation,” Loki whispered into the dog’s ear.

Sirius jerked back, panic in his eyes. He tried to bolt but Loki easily grabbed hold of the ruff of his neck, and hauled him up into the air. Sirius squirmed in an attempt to free himself. It reminded Loki of the way he used to pick up Fenris when he’d been younger, and so he was easily able to contain the large dog.

“There is no need to fear. I mean you no harm. We must speak. I am going to bring us to a safe location so that we may do so,” Loki informed him.

Sirius did not answer considering his current form. Loki brought them both to a very familiar location to Sirius. The Shrieking Shack as it had been dubbed in their school days from Remus’s screams whilst changing into his werewolf form. James had confided in Loki about the truth of the Marauder’s monthly outings while they had been dating in their seventh year. Loki had been suspicious about their monthly disappearances, and was close to discovering the truth anyway. He had always felt a connection to Remus. It made sense now considering werewolves had been created through a mishap with his son Fenris before he had been forever imprisoned. James had shown Loki the secret passageway into the Shrieking Shack not that Loki needed it now. The Shrieking Shack was beyond the wards of Hogwarts, which made it simple for Loki to teleport the both of them into it. The old place looked just as decrepit as it had all those years ago.

Loki released Sirius from the spell. Instantly the dog sprang away from him, and resumed his human form. Loki felt a pang of regret as he caught his first good look of Sirius. The man was dressed in threadbare rags but the state of his clothing paled in comparison to the state the man himself was in. In their school days Sirius Black had been larger than life always the center of attention and always laughing. He was once a tall, well built young man with a handsome face and a charismatic personality. Sirius had also been a prankster with a mean streak towards those he considered a threat to his small group of friends.

The man in front of Loki was a pale shadow of that man. Sirius was gaunt in the extreme. Azkaban had caused his once handsome face to waste away to skin stretched taut over bone, and his muscular frame had withered from malnutrition. His thick black hair was a long and wild mess, and an untrimmed, unkempt beard covered his face. But what worried Loki the most was the crazed look in his gray eyes. Eyes once so full of laughter and mischief were now haunted with madness. Loki couldn’t help but wonder if this is what he looked like when he had first stepped out of the portal onto Earth. Loki had certainly felt insane enough at the time to warrant it. Only time with Harry had managed to ease the madness Loki had been suffering. Loki felt a stab of guilt at the fate Sirius had undergone. He could certainly relate to his situation, and hoped to rectify it.

“Who are you?” Sirius rasped.

“You don’t recognize me. But of course I looked a little different the last time you saw me,” Loki smirked easily finding some amusement in the current situation.

“I have no idea who you are, and I don’t really care. What I want to know, is just how did you know who I was? Only a handful of people knew my animagus form and half of them are dead now,” Sirius growled with a bitter grin.

“I know your animagus form because you told me yourself, Sirius,” Loki explained.

“I did no such thing. I don’t know you.”

“You would be surprised,” Loki murmured.

“Tell me your name,” Sirius snarled.

“My name is Loki.”

“Loki? I don’t know any Lokis,” Sirius spat.

“No, but you knew me by another name: Lily. Lily Evans and later Lily Potter,” Loki changed before Sirius eyes taking his female form while changing the color of his hair.

“What is this? Have I finally gone completely mad? This isn’t possible! Are you some sort of specter come to haunt me for failing you?” Sirius cried backing away, and gripping his head.

“It’s me, Sirius. I swear to you, I really am Lily Potter. Ask me anything. Something only I would know,” Loki insisted gently reaching out to touch Sirius’s shoulder. But he stopped before making contact thinking that it would best to give the wizard some space.

“No, this isn’t happening. You aren’t real,” Sirius shook his head.

“I am real Sirius Orion Black, and I am alive and well. You were at my wedding. You bought my son a broom for his first birthday despite my wishes to the contrary. I know your animagus form is a black dog, and your nickname is Padfoot. You were not the Secret Keeper for James and I. You didn’t betray us, it was Peter Pettigrew. You and James were the only ones in this world who knew the truth that Harry wasn’t James’s biological child. His biological father was an Asgardian, Thor,” Loki continued.

“How? No one else knew that…How can this be happening? Are you really alive? Is this really happening?” Sirius muttered to himself in distress.

“Yes, Sirius, I am alive, and I’m really here,” Loki told him sincerely.

“How are you alive? How did you survive? Why were you a man a little earlier? Is it some sort of disguise to keep others from realizing you’re really alive?” Sirius questioned quickly, eager to hear his story now that he was finally starting to accept the truth.

“It’s a rather long story. One that would be best explained with you sitting down before you fall down. You are still quite weak,” Loki waved at the couch and transfigured it to make it a bit more comfortable. Sirius could use any sort of comfort, and so could he if he was being honest with himself.

“Why do I have a feeling things are about to become very complicated?” Sirius mumbled as he reluctantly seated himself as far away from Loki as possible.

“Very astute, Black. Now listen closely, and try not to interrupt,” Loki commanded.

“You’re still bossy as ever I see,” Sirius muttered.

Loki glared and Sirius subsided into silence. Loki took advantage of his silence to begin his tale. Sirius tried to interrupt a few times but Loki cut him off, and forced him to listen to the entire tale.

“Let me see if I fully understand this situation. You are actually Loki the Norse God of Mischief and Magic. You were punished by your adopted father, Odin, by him de-aging you while in your female form, and then stripping you of your powers and memories. You grew up as Lily Evans, had a brief fling with your adopted brother when both of you didn’t recognize one another, and then you had Harry. You married James, Voldemort attacked you, and you died but only for a little bit because Odin showed up took you back to Asgard and restored your godly powers. You had no memory of your life as Lily so you went on your merry way until you fell off the rainbow bridge. You also tried to take over the world. Did I get that all right?” Sirius asked dryly.

“Yes,” Loki gritted his teeth.

“All right then,” Sirius sat back looking a bit overwhelmed

“You believe me? You don’t want proof?” Loki asked in surprise.

“The dementors may have addled my mind but they didn’t make me crazy enough to think up a story like that. I’ve never been that creative, and I can’t imagine that I would start now when my head’s practically a pool of mush. A story that unbelievably mad has to be true,” Sirius said sagely.

Loki slapped him in the back of the head. “Stop being an idiot, Black.”

Sirius’s hand went to rub the back of his head. “Oh yeah, you’re definitely Lily,” he grumbled.

“Did I finally knock some sense into that thick head of yours?” Loki quirked an eyebrow.

“No one could hit quite like you could, Evans,” Sirius flashed him a crooked grin.

“I never did anything that you didn’t deserve, Black. Someone had to keep you in line,” Loki smiled innocently.

“I don’t believe this. You’re a bloke! Well, not right now. But before you were a bloke,” he suddenly burst out, the initial shock was beginning to wear off.

“A god,” Loki corrected smugly.

“Yeah, a god. Thank Merlin James never knew. We never would have heard the end of it if he knew he’d bagged himself a god, and the God of Mischief to boot,” Sirius snorted. 

Loki rolled his eyes and felt a pang of loss over James. He wished he could find a way to repay the wizard for all that he had done for him.

“You should have been helping us with pranks not turning us in or lecturing us about them,” Sirius accused.

“I recall quite a few times I pranked the lot of you. You just never realized it was me,” Loki smirked slyly.

“You…? I don’t believe it. What did you do?” Sirius demanded.

“The hair incident of sixth year,” Loki offered as an example.

Sirius gaped at him. “You? You turned my gorgeous black locks Slytherin green and silver?”

“I did,” Loki nodded.

“I can’t believe it. My hair was striped green and silver for three months. I couldn’t turn it back, and it really put a halt on my dating life. Pranked by Evans, it’s a travesty,” Sirius shook his head sadly.

“If it makes you feel better you can say you were pranked by the God of Mischief,” Loki offered.

“It would definitely help. Which reminds me, how should I refer to you? You know Loki or Lily? He or she?” Sirius asked thoughtfully.

Loki rolled his eyes. This was a question he was asked frequently. “You may use the gender pronoun of whichever gender I currently am at the time. As for names you may do the same. In this form call me Lily and in my other you may refer to me as Loki.”

“But you’re really the same person?”

“Yes, Lily and I are one. We have slight differences because we grew up differently, and had different experience but at the core we are the same especially now that I have assimilated all of Lily’s memories. Lily is me and I am Lily,” Loki explained.

“But you think of yourself as Loki,” Sirius observed knowingly.

“I have been Loki a lot longer than I was ever Lily. So yes as the more dominant part of me I do think of myself as primarily Loki,” Loki clarified.

“All right then,” Sirius smiled.

Loki sighed. “I believe we’re getting off task. I mean to return to the wizarding world. Once I have proven my existence to them I will clear your name.”

“What?” Sirius murmured in shock.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, Sirius. You have lost a great deal of your life, and I do not want you to miss any more of it. You are perhaps one of the few friends I have right, and I don’t want to leave you in such a desperate situation,” Loki whispered.

“Thank you,” Sirius replied sincerely.

“You can remain here until then. It should not take me long,” Loki assured him.

“Wait, I broke out of Azkaban for a reason. I found Pettigrew,” Sirius hissed.

“Tell me,” Loki commanded, feeling rage stir inside him at the thought of the traitor.

“He’s a rat animagus, which you know. When I confronted him after yours and James’s death he cut off his finger before blowing up the street and disappearing into the sewers as a rat. Minister Fudge came by with a paper for me towards the beginning of summer. There was a picture of Wormtail in the paper,” Sirius informed Loki.

“A picture? How?” Loki frowned.

“The little bastard’s been hiding all of these years as a rat. He’s pretended to be the family pet to the Weasleys. They won some sort of contest so their picture was in the paper, and imagine my surprise to see Wormtail on the shoulder of the youngest boy. I knew I had to get out then. Pettigrew was right there in Hogwarts. In the same dorm as Harry,” Sirius ranted.

Loki froze. “I will rip that rat limb from limb.”

Sirius flashed a fierce grin. “I would be more than happy to assist you in such an endeavor.”

“We’ll need to get our hands on the rat before proving my identity. Once the truth of my being alive is spread he’ll no doubt take off,” Loki murmured.

“He was in Egypt. I think the Weasleys should be back by now. We can capture him there,” Sirius agreed.

“Do they live in the same place?” Loki asked.

“I believe so. Ottery St. Catchpole, I think it is,” Sirius nodded.

“Well, then we have a rat to catch, don’t we?” Loki smirked.

Sirius rubbed his hands together looking eager.

“First, let’s clean you up a bit, shall we?” Loki snapped his fingers.

Sirius was now perfectly clean. His hair and beard were trimmed and he wore simple, but elegant black slacks, a gray shirt and black jacket. He was still horribly gaunt but at the very least he didn’t look like a complete raving lunatic now.

“I believe we have a rat to hunt now,” Sirius said impatiently.

Loki nodded and took hold of Sirius’s arm. He brought the two of them just outside of the quaint little town.

“I think it would be best if you returned to your animagus form, and used your nose to sniff out the rat. Knock him out, and then bind him with this. Just be careful and don’t trap yourself in it,” Loki held an enchanted chain out for Sirius to bind Pettigrew. The dog gingerly took it into his mouth. “Apparate with him back to the Shrieking Shack, I’ll meet you there. Meanwhile, I will go to the Ministry and begin the process of confirming my identity. Once my identity is confirmed we’ll clear your name.”

The dog nodded once before taking off up the path. Loki was certain Sirius would be able to catch Pettigrew. Sirius’s desire for vengeance was far too great for him to fail in this endeavor. Loki just hoped that Sirius brought Pettigrew back alive. It would certainly make clearing his name much easier, and Loki wanted the chance to enact his own revenge on the little worm.

Loki teleported straight to St. Mungo’s. It was strange to think that he had been considering joining the medi-wizard program here at one point. But the war and then later Harry pushed his dream off for a little while. He’d always intended to go back but of course then he’d died. Loki decided to go right up to the main desk, ready to put on the performance of the year. He was known as the God of Lies for a reason after all, and it would be hardly difficult to fool the mortals.

“Excuse me ma’am, I need some help. I don’t know where else to go. I’ve looked everywhere for my husband and son, James and Harry Potter. I can’t find them anywhere. The last thing I remember was being attacked, and our house is destroyed but they aren’t inside. Has anyone brought them here?” Loki asked in a flawlessly panicked voice.

The receptionist was just gaping at him in shock. Of course Lily Potter was just as well known as the mother Boy-Who-Lived, and her appearance was well known amongst wizards. Her picture was in many history books, and she was considered a saint for sacrificing her life for her young son.

“Lily? Lily Potter?” she gasped.

“Yes,” Loki frowned in feigned confusion.

“I can’t believe… We need to get you checked over.”

“I don’t understand. Are my husband and son here or not?” Loki demanded.

“Just calm down, we’ll explain everything. Just let me get a healer,” the woman ran off before Loki could complain further.

Once the healer arrived and shuffled him into an examination room everything moved very quickly. They tested his blood and magic, and once both came back positive the healer was falling over herself to explain everything to Loki. Loki played his part well. Pretending to be distraught and disbelieving until he was brought proof. They brought him the day’s _Daily Prophet_.After that he demanded to see his son. Instead he got the Minister and Dumbledore. Loki was shocked and disgruntled to find out that Cornelius Fudge had actually been elected Minister of Magic. The man was utterly incompetent, and Loki wondered how much ruin he had caused to the Ministry and the British wizarding world during his time in office.

Another round of exams were completed at the request of both Dumbledore and Fudge so that they could witness them for themselves and ensure that they were not tampered with. Not that Fudge would have been able to recognize if they had. They all came back proving he was Lily Potter. Theories on his survival began bouncing between the two healers allowed in the hospital room while Fudge was already trying to spin his survival as something he had accomplished as a way to get more votes for the next election. But Loki urged them to keep his return a secret for the time being. There was a chance that Thor would want to bring Harry to get his school things himself. It would lower the risk of Thor discovering him if his existence wasn’t revealed until the school year began, and the chances of Thor getting into contact with the wizarding world lessened. Dumbledore heartily agreed with this idea.

Dumbledore was genuinely thrilled at his return but Loki understood the man much better than he had when he thought he was just Lily Potter. As Lily Potter he had been more naïve. He had led a simpler, happier, and shorter life as Lily, and therefore had not quite developed all of the observational and manipulative skills he had as Loki. Now that Loki had gotten all of his memories back he was able to recognize that Dumbledore had not gotten his place of authority on countless councils just because he was kind and grandfatherly. He’d earned them through his power, intelligence, and natural authoritative presence. Loki knew the man would already be concocting all sorts of different plans of how to best use his return. A part of Loki understood this as manipulation was a part of his own nature, and unlike Loki Dumbledore was often trying to manipulate things for the good of the whole. While Loki often did things for his own amusement or lately to get back at Odin and Thor.

“I am so happy that you are alive and well, Lily. Do you remember anything?” Dumbledore questioned while Fudge was speaking with the healers.

“I remember the attack. I think Voldemort hit me with something and then the next thing I know I’m waking up in Harry’s destroyed nursery. I know that James is dead. I saw the flash of green while he tried to hold of Voldemort. But Harry is alive. When can I see Harry? I hope that Sirius hasn’t spoiled him too much,” Loki smirked internally at the shocked expression on Dumbledore’s face. Likewise the healers and Fudge whipped around to stare at him.

“Sirius? Why would Sirius have raised Harry?” Dumbledore questioned.

“Why wouldn’t he have? He is Harry’s godfather,” Loki feigned confusion.

“But Sirius Black betrayed you. He was your Secret Keeper, and he gave your location away to Voldemort,” Dumbledore replied.

“Sirius wasn’t our Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew was. The two of them switched at the last moment. James and Sirius thought it would be too obvious if Sirius was our Secret Keeper. Pettigrew betrayed us,” Loki stated firmly.

Fudge erupted into a flurry of activity. He needed to look into Sirius’s case to cover himself when it became public knowledge that Sirius was innocent. The man had pleaded with Loki to keep this information to himself for the time being. Loki sincerely assured him he would. Of course he was lying. But Fudge didn’t know that.

In the ensuing maelstrom Dumbledore got Loki alone once more. Loki wasn’t too fond of the Headmaster at the moment. Harry had told him all about how he was the one to place him with the Dursleys, and had forced him to return there for the last two summers. But he needed Dumbledore on his side so he played nice, and hinted at wanting to be closer to Harry. Dumbledore was happy to have the newly resurrected Lily Potter closer to him, and offered her a position co-teaching with Remus. Apparently he had already hired the werewolf for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position but they would need someone to cover the days before and after the full moon. Remus was an intelligent but gentle soul who had been a close friend even before Loki started dating James Potter. And the more allies Loki had at his side the harder it would be for Thor to take him back to Asgard.

Loki managed to convince the healers to let him stay at Hogwarts. They reluctantly agreed. All of their tests proved he was in perfect health. There was no reason for them to hold him. He needed to get back to Sirius as soon as possible. Who knows what he would do to Pettigrew if left alone with him for too long? Loki had given his official statement to Pettigrew being their Secret Keeper but they were holding off on beginning the process of clearing his name. Mostly because Fudge was an idiot, and still believed he was responsible for killing Pettigrew in revenge. He wanted any excuse to keep the public from knowing that an innocent man had been locked away in Azkaban for years, even if though he hadn’t been incarcerated under Fudge’s reign. Fudge was smart enough to realize the public would turn on him. They would need the rat to officially clear his name.

Only Dumbledore, Hagrid, Filch, and Sybil Trelawney actually stayed at Hogwarts during the summers, which made it easier to avoid conversation with anyone. Dumbledore tried to strike up a conversation with him by chatting about how Harry was doing in school. Loki feigned tiredness to get him to leave him alone.

The moment Dumbledore was gone Loki made his way back down to the Shrieking Shack. He found Sirius poking a bound rat with a stick. Loki felt relief wash through him. He honestly hadn’t been sure if Sirius would have kept Pettigrew alive or not. Perhaps Sirius had more sanity than Loki had given him credit for. Or perhaps being given a task to complete had given him enough purpose to get his mind to focus and momentarily chase away the madness.

“I thought you were never coming back, and it had all been a figment of my imagination,” Sirius admitted.

“It wasn’t,” Loki assured him. “Now, I believe we have some unfinished business to attend to.”

Sirius flashed him a grin, and turned his attention towards Pettigrew.

With a wave of his hand Loki forced Pettigrew to turn back into his human form. Loki sneered in disgust at the pathetic creature Peter Pettigrew had become. He’d always been a rather unremarkable boy but the heavy, putrid little man in front of him was far more loathsome than the boy he remembered.

“Lily, oh sweet Lily, dear Lily. You’re alive,” Pettigrew whimpered in terror.

“Shut up! You don’t get to apologize for murdering her,” Sirius snarled.

“I… I’m sorry. The Dark Lord… He’s so strong and I couldn’t… He would have killed me,” Pettigrew cried.

“Then you should have died, rather than betray our friends,” Sirius replied darkly.

“You wouldn’t kill me, would you? Lily you were always so kind, so gentle to everyone. You would never hurt anyone,” Pettigrew sniveled.

“I’m not the same person I was back then, Wormtail. You had a part in murdering my husband, and the attempted murder of my child. That is something I just can’t forgive I’m afraid,” Loki taunted.

“But you need me. Sirius your name will never be cleared without me,” Pettigrew cried.

“You’re right, Wormtail, we need you, _alive_ ,” Loki emphasized. “Your condition isn’t as important, just as long as you’re still in one piece afterwards. We’ll drop you off anonymously at the DMLE when we’re through,” Loki grinned fiercely.

Fear flashed through Pettigrew’s eyes as Loki and Sirius converged on him. Of course they kept things fairly tame considering Sirius didn’t have a wand and Loki was in a weakened state. Loki mostly cast a few illusions making Pettigrew believe he was covered in various insects or had snakes crawling beneath his skin. Sirius was happy enough to watch and taunt the rat, and give him an occasional kick. Loki dropped him off in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after the rat had been reduced to a complete sniveling heap. He made certain that his mind was properly erased on Loki’s involvement, and that he would be found immediately.

Only once the Aurors had their hands on him did Loki return to his bed at Hogwarts. The next morning he had breakfast in his room, served by the house elves. There was one particular house elf that was utterly beside itself over meeting ‘Harry Potter’s Mother’. Loki couldn’t help but smile at the little creature’s title for him. Dobby was certainly devoted to his son, and eagerly told Loki just how Harry had tricked his master into giving him clothes. Loki felt pride in hearing about Harry’s accomplishments. The little elf was a good source of information. He was eager to provide Loki with any details of Harry’s life that he was unaware of. Loki was positive that Harry hadn’t been completely honest with him over some of the details of his life when Loki had asked him at the beginning of summer. He was proven correct when Dobby told him all about his master’s plan to stir up trouble in the school. Loki was enraged to learn his son had fought a basilisk on his own. Lucius Malfoy would have a great deal to answer for in putting his child at risk. Hogwarts and the Ministry also had been lax in their duties to the students, and Loki would allow no harm to come to his youngest son.

Loki was doubly pleased that he was here now. He would be here to observe the way his son was treated. Loki had enjoyed his own time in Hogwarts but things were prone to change, and Harry’s fame seemed to have caused all sorts of trouble. Either way Loki was thrilled at the thought of getting to see Harry every day without the interference of Thor. Loki knew Harry deserved the chance to know his father but it didn’t stop him from wanting to keep Thor as far away from Harry as possible. Loki selfishly didn’t want to share Harry with Thor. He wanted to be the only parental figure in his life.

Hogwarts would be starting in just a week now. Loki could wait that long to have Harry back beside him, and then Loki was never letting his youngest child out of his sight again.


	8. Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble

The next morning after the almost sinking of the helicarrier Harry woke up to find a snake hovering over his face. The fork tongue flicked out to touch his cheek. Harry gave a startled shriek and flipped out of the bed.

The snake loosed a couple of hissing chuckles.

“Oh, little brother, you should have seen your face,” came Jormungandr’s voice from the snake.

“Jormungandr?” Harry squeaked, turning red in embarrassment.

“Yes,” his brother nodded.

“How are you here? Why are you here?” Harry frowned.

The snake looked like a viper Harry had seen in the reptile house at the zoo but his scales were similar in color to Jormungandr’s larger form.

“Father transformed me into this smaller shape so that I could come and watch over you while he is unavailable. He apologizes for not letting you in on the plan but he didn’t want the angry one-eyed man to think you were involved,” Jormungandr informed him.

“I would have rather he told me what he was going to do instead of just running off,” said Harry. Loki hadn’t exactly earned his trust back by pulling the little stunt no matter how much Harry understood he needed to get away before he was dragged back to Asgard as a criminal. It still stung.

“I understand that you’re upset. But you have to understand Father isn’t in the best frame of mind at the moment. I knew something was wrong when he came to visit me at the beginning of summer. When he told me about his fight with Odin and Thor, and falling from the Bifrost into the Void I assumed that was what was plaguing his mind. I never thought for a moment that he had been tortured or was being used by another,” Jormungandr murmured solemnly.

“Tortured?” Harry gasped. “Who did it?”

“I don’t know, and Father refuses to tell me. You have to understand, Harry, Father has always had a strong protective streak even more so after Fenris and I were imprisoned. Whatever was done to him has scrambled his better reasoning, and left him acting on instinct. It will be awhile yet before he has healed himself enough to return to his more rational state of being,” Jormungandr explained.

“Are you saying Loki’s crazy? Because he acts mostly sane,” Harry pointed out.

“No not crazy, just a bit confused at the moment. He may act otherwise but he is capable of wearing a very convincing mask. Only time will help him heal and return to what he once was,” Jormungandr assured.

“I can’t help but still be angry with him,” Harry muttered.

“I know, Harry, but I promise he was not trying to purposely leave you behind,” Jormungandr swore

“Right. Well, I might as well go back to Hogwarts for the time being. We’re not going back to Asgard without Loki so I might as well go back. Besides I don’t really think I’m all that welcome here on the helicarrier,” Harry shrugged.

“You’ll be fine staying here until school starts, and I’ll stay with you. Brother bonding time!” Jormungandr cheered.

Harry laughed at his enthusiasm. “I think it’ll be a little difficult considering you’re a snake at the moment.”

“True, we’ll have to be careful, especially around Thor in case he overhears our conversation or senses me,” Jormungandr explained.

“Thor can hear you speak?” Harry asked, confused.

“Of course, why wouldn’t he?” Jormungandr replied.

“How? Aren’t I speaking Parseltongue? Did I get that ability from Thor then?”

“Parseltongue? No, that’s a wizarding ability. You’re speaking All-Speak. It’s something that Asgardians and other immortal beings of the Nine Realms are capable of. It basically means you can speak and understand all the languages of sentient beings. For example when you are speaking to someone who speaks Spanish, to you it would sound like English because that is the language you grew up speaking. While to them it sounds as if you are speaking Spanish. Likewise their words would sound like English to you,” Jormungandr stated.

“That is exactly what happens when I speak to snakes. But this past year, with the incident with the snake at the Dueling Club everyone heard me hissing at the snake. That’s why everyone thought I was a Parselmouth,” Harry told him.

“It’s all about perception. Wizards and witches are aware of abilities to speak to animals. They saw you talking to a snake so they assumed you were speaking Parseltongue so that’s what it sounded like to them,” Jormungandr flicked his tail in an imitation of a shrug.  

“So I’m not a Parselmouth? But I can’t talk to other animals just snakes,” Harry pointed out.

“You’re young yet, and still developing your abilities. All Speak is just another ability that will grow and evolve as you get older. It will be a while yet before you understand all languages, and everyone understands you,” Jormungandr told him.

“I nearly gave Thor frostbite yesterday when he touched my skin,” Harry confided.

“Interesting. As far as I know you’d be the only one of us that inherited Father’s Frost Giant abilities. But then you are the only one of us who is more than half Jotun,” Jormungandr said thoughtfully.

“More than half, how?” Harry asked.

“Odin is half Jotun. His mother Bestia was a Jotun.”

“Really?” Harry was shocked.

“Yes, which means Odin is half, Thor is a quarter, and you are 5/8 Jotun.”

Harry just stared at him.

“You know because you get half from Father and then 1/8 from Thor, add them together and you get 5/8,” Jormungandr continued.

“I know how to do fractions, thank you, it’s just odd to be 5/8 anything,” Harry replied.

“It works out then because you’re an odd kid,” Jormungandr hissed slyly.

“Oi!” Harry glared.

Jormungandr gave a snakey smile.

“At least I’m not a wimpy little snake,” Harry taunted.

“Who are you calling wimpy, you skinny little shrimp?” Jormungandr glared indignantly.

Harry laughed but there was an important question he’d wanted to ask. He’d gotten side tracked by the introduction of All Speak. “What about Loki? Where is he?” Harry may have been upset with Loki but it didn’t stop him from worrying about him.

“Father is in a place he can properly recuperate, and you’ll see him soon,” Jormungandr answered secretively.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the snake who was also his brother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means it’s a surprise. Father doesn’t want me to tell you. He told me only to tell you that you’ll see him soon,” Jormungandr replied firmly.

Harry’s thoughts whirled with possibilities.

“Is he—” Harry was cut off by a loud knocking on the door of his room.

“Harek, are you awake?” called Thor.

“If you weren’t, you would be after that pounding,” Jormungandr hissed quietly. Harry didn’t know that snakes were capable of rolling their eyes.

Harry glared at Jormungandr. “Hide,” he commanded as he went to the door.

Jormungandr slid under his bed.

“Yeah, I’m awake,” Harry opened the door.

Thor beamed at him from the other side. “SHIELD has made a most glorious feast for us to break our fast, and you must be hungry, my son.”

It still gave Harry a little shock to hear Thor so casually refer to him as his son even though he had done so all day yesterday. Thor said it without a care as if it was natural for him to say. Harry wasn’t sure he would ever get used to being referred to as someone’s son. It was sort of nice he had to admit. It did make Harry wonder if he was going to tell the rest of the Avengers the truth. Tony Stark and Dr. Banner already knew. Would Thor want everyone else to know as well?

“Breakfast sounds good,” Harry agreed.

Thor beamed again and threw an arm across Harry’s shoulders. Harry took one last look into his room to make sure that Jormungandr was well hidden before allowing Thor to drag him from the room. Thor brought him to a small cafeteria. The other Avengers, Fury, and the blue suited woman were all sitting, and eating the huge breakfast laid out before them. They all stopped for a moment to look up at Harry and Thor as they entered.

“Good morning, my friends. Harek has agreed to join us for our morning meal,” Thor boomed as they walked in.

“He’s more than welcome as long as he doesn’t cause any more damage to my helicarrier. His brother and father have done enough,” Director Fury glared at him.

Harry glared back.

“Loki is not Harek’s father,” Thor spoke up.

Harry felt his heart begin to race, and that familiar icy tingle started to spread through him as he got nervous. Was Thor really going to tell them right here? Right now?

“Fine, his mother, whatever,” Director Fury snapped.

“I am Harek’s father,” Thor stated proudly. “And I do not like the way you are treating my son. He has done nothing to deserve this treatment.”

His statement was followed by complete silence as they all attempted to process that sudden piece of information. Harry supposed that they were his friends, and it was his right to tell them the way he wanted to. Harry just wished that he would have talked with him about it before he actually did it. He would have liked to be prepared for the inevitable fallout of sharing the truth.

“What?” Director Fury asked sharply.

“Loki’s identity during his punishment was a woman named Lily Evans. I came to Midgard nearly fourteen years ago, and became close to her without knowing that she was Loki. I had no knowledge that my father had even sent Loki to Midgard. We did not realize what we were doing, and we had a child together. I am Harek’s father. Tony and Bruce completed all of the tests to prove it,” Thor told them steadily.

“Just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder,” Clint muttered. It seemed to be his favorite sentence or maybe the past few days had really warranted the use of the statement.

“I will not hear of any disrespectful comments about Harek or allow anyone to speak cruel words to him. His conception was not his fault and he should not be condemned for his parentage,” Thor growled.

“And it won’t happen,” Captain America said firmly even if he did look a little shell-shocked.

“Come on, kid, Point Break, the bacon’s getting cold,” Tony called them over.

Thor sat Harry down at the table beside Dr. Banner, Tony, and Captain America. He began to ladle Harry’s plate with more eggs than even Dudley would have been capable of eating.

“Er, thanks but I can do it myself,” Harry stopped Thor from making another scoop.

“Oh, of course,” Thor nodded and saw to his own plate.

Tony snorted in amusement at Thor’s behavior.

“You do know the kid is thirteen and not three, right?” Tony questioned.

“Yes, and thirteen is very young to Asgardians,” Thor replied.

Harry didn’t like the thought of being treated like a child. Although, he could understand considering Asgardians lived for thousands and thousands of years. Thirteen would certainly seem extremely young to them. Harry was practically still an infant in their eyes. It did make him curious as to just how long Asgardians were capable of living.

“Harek, I do not think you were properly introduced to Steve. This is Steve Rogers, he is the Captain of America,” Thor introduced.

“Hello, sir,” Harry greeted.

“Nice to officially meet you… Har—Her-ick?” Captain America stumbled a bit over his name.

“You can just call me Harry, Captain,” Harry assured.

“Right, sorry about butchering your name. You can call me Steve,” the blonde man smiled.

“Yes, forgive him, he is a doddering old grandpa after all, and sometimes he gets confused,” Tony grinned.

Steve scowled at Tony.

Director Fury and the woman in the blue suit, who Harry learned was his second in command, Maria Hill, left soon after that. They had work to do in trying to locate Loki. The Director demanded that everyone else join him after they finished eating to help search for him. The Avengers defied him by sticking around in the cafeteria talking, and getting to know one another. To the world they were portrayed as this strong crime fighting team but as Harry learned they had only known one another for a few weeks, and hardly knew one another. Except for Natasha and Clint. They had been partners in SHIELD before. Tony and Steve also had somewhat of an odd connection. Steve had been a friend of Tony’s father, a father he seemed to hate.

Despite their differences, they all somehow seemed to work as a team. They bickered and squabbled amongst themselves but it was all good-natured, and they were all very accepting of one another. It put Harry at ease knowing that they didn’t seem all that bothered by who his parents were. He was actually happy that Thor had been honest and told them. It was nice to see that people were capable of reacting positively to the news. It gave him a boost of confidence at the situation.

By noon Steve managed to convince the rest of them that they really needed to go meet with the Director. Harry was not invited.

“I am sorry, Harek. I believe there is an entertainment box for to you use in your room. I will try not to be gone for too long,” Thor clapped him on the back.

“Do you think you’ll be able to find Loki?” Harry asked Thor.

“I do not know,” Thor admitted looking a little lost.

“Will you eventually go back to Asgard without him?” Harry wanted to know.

“I suppose I will have to if we are unable to locate him,” Thor nodded. “Although, the entire purpose of coming here was to collect Loki. My father feared what he had planned when the Keeper of the Bifrost, Heimdall, saw him with the Chitauri army. He used a great deal of his strength to send me here to bring Loki home.”

Harry nodded, thinking. Harry could go back to Hogwarts for now, and then when Thor was ready Harry could go to Asgard with him. Harry would give it a few days. There was still a little more than a week left before school began. He had time to see how things would play out. Harry didn’t want to rush into any decisions.

Thor went to his meeting, and Harry returned to his room. He wanted to spend some time with Jormungandr without running the risk of anyone finding out about him. As soon as he entered his room Jormungandr slithered out from underneath his bed.

“How was breakfast?” Jormungandr questioned.

“It was good. I brought you and Hedwig back some bacon,” Harry offered his owl some as he sat down on the bed.

Jormungandr crawled up beside him, and Harry handed him a few pieces of bacon.

“How low I’ve sunk. Eating cold bacon out of my little brother’s hand. I used to swallow whole ships,” Jormungandr muttered sullenly.

“You didn’t really eat people, did you?” Harry asked worriedly.

“I was young… and hungry,” Jormungandr gave his equivalent of a shrug.

Harry carefully withdrew his hand out of Jormungandr’s reach.

“Am I going to have to lie to Thor when I find out where Loki is?” Harry asked softly.

“Probably,” Jormungandr told him bluntly.

“I don’t want to lie to him. But if I don’t then Thor is going to take Loki back to Asgard,” Harry muttered.

“You’re between a rock and a hard place, Harry. I don’t envy your position.”

“Thanks, you’re very helpful,” Harry glared at the snake.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to sound callous. I just don’t want to sugar coat things for you. Loki and Thor are essentially enemies at the moment, and as their son you are going to be put in the middle of things whether they mean to do it or not. You’re going to have to make difficult choices, and you’re probably going to hurt one or the other at some point. Unless, they somehow reconcile, which I don’t see happening anytime soon. Father can really hold a grudge.”

Harry sighed and flopped back down onto his bed.

“Why does everything have to be so complicated?” Harry questioned.

Jormungandr slithered up to his side, pressing close.

“Don’t worry yourself with things that haven’t happened yet, Harry. If something does, know I will be there for you,” Jormungandr hissed gently.

“Thanks, Jor,” Harry smiled. Without really thinking about it he reached over to scratch his head.

“Anytime little brother,” Jormungandr assured him. “And down a little further. Now to the right.”

Harry snorted and complied with his demand. But he took Jormungandr’s advice to heart and tried to relax a bit.

///

A couple of days had passed with the manhunt for Loki in full effect. Thor, and the rest of the Avengers hardly spent any time on the helicarrier anymore. All of the SHIELD agents were also constantly working around the clock to pick up a signal or using facial recognition software to pick up a trace of Loki. But so far no one had been successful in catching sight of Loki. Thor was now afraid he had found a way to sneak back to Asgard or one of the other realms. Thor wanted to exhaust their search on Earth before he went off to the other realms. Travelling by Tesseract was a one-way trip, and he didn’t want to risk going all the way back to Asgard when Loki might still be hiding on Earth somewhere.

Harry was still conflicted about what he should do. It was difficult for him to decide what the right thing to do in this situation was. Loki was considered a criminal by the entire planet. If Harry learned where he was then the right thing for him to do should be to turn him in to Thor. Harry couldn’t betray Loki like. But not turning him in made it seem like he was siding with Loki, and by keeping Loki’s hiding place a secret he was betraying Thor. It was a complicated situation, and as much as Jormungandr insisted he not worry about it Harry couldn’t quite help himself. Now that he had a family he wanted to keep them. He didn’t want to upset one of them.

Harry was sitting in the mess hall having dinner. He had finally come to the decision that he was going to go back to Hogwarts. At least for the time being. Thor was much busier searching for Loki than Harry had thought he would be, and Harry had been left on his own a lot in the past few days. On the bright side he’d finished his summer homework with the help of Jormungandr who had a surprisingly vast amount of knowledge. When Harry questioned him his brother had replied that he’d spent a lot of time alone, and had to occupy his time somehow. The not so bright side was that Harry hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time with Thor. It wasn’t Thor’s fault, he was just running, or flying rather, himself ragged trying to find Loki. Harry figured he might as well be at Hogwarts with his friends if he wasn’t going to be able to spend much time with Thor. He had made up his mind, now all he needed to do was tell Thor, and hopefully he wouldn’t mind dropping him off at Diagon Alley. Harry figured he could rent a room in the Leaky Cauldron until September 1st. It was only a couple of days away anyway.

The Avengers trooped into cafeteria shortly after Harry had arrived. They looked tired. They had all been working nonstop for the past few days. They were exhausting every possible lead that SHIELD had. But it was as if Loki had vanished. Harry was beginning to have a vague idea of just where Loki might be hiding.

“How goes the search?” Harry asked Thor.

“It is becoming much more probable that my brother has left Midgard entirely,” Thor sighed as he sat down beside Harry.

He ruffled Harry’s hair affectionately before turning his full attention to his food. Harry caught Tony looking between himself and Thor with an amused expression. The resemblance between Harry and Thor was noticeable especially when they were sitting next to one another.

“I did not think he would leave Harek behind. But I am more convinced now that there are more malevolent forces at work. Loki has run to separate himself from Harek to keep him from their wrath,” Thor continued once he came up for air.

“Maybe, or maybe he’s plotting his next plan of attack,” Clint snapped.

The archer still held a huge grudge towards Loki, and even seemed a little leery in Harry’s presence. Harry had learned that Loki had put the SHIELD agent under some sort of mind control spell. Needless to say Loki was not Clint’s favorite person, and by extension he wasn’t too fond of Harry. He wasn’t hostile or openly antagonistic but Harry could tell being around him made him uncomfortable, and reminded him of his time under Loki’s control. Although, knowing he was Thor’s son too seemed to help ease some of that tension in him.

Thor was angry at the continued apathy towards him but didn’t say anything. He seemed to realize that Loki’s track record proved that Clint might not be all together wrong. Harry honestly didn’t know where he stood. He was just as angry over what Loki had done but at the same time he wanted to protect Loki. Harry didn’t want him to be imprisoned or taken away.

“I was thinking that I would go back to school,” Harry said to ease some of the tension in the room.

“Are you certain that is what you want, Harek?” Thor questioned in surprise.

“I figured you were busy, and all. I know you can’t help it but I might as well go back for a little while. See my friends and all that,” Harry shrugged.

Thor looked saddened at the thought. “I apologize for not spending more time with you these past few days.”

“It’s all right, I understand. I just think it will be easier this way. You can still come visit on the weekends. We have trips to the local village so we can meet up there,” Harry offered. Uncle Vernon had grudgingly signed his permission slip after witnessing some of the magic Loki had taught Harry.

“Perhaps that is for the best,” Thor nodded regretfully.

“Right, so can you drop me off tomorrow? I need to pick up my school things. School starts September 1st so I really should start getting prepared,” Harry said. He’d procrastinated long enough and now he only had a few days before school started.

“I will take you,” Thor agreed.

Harry nodded in thanks.

The next morning Thor and Harry prepared to leave early. Jormungandr wrapped himself under Harry’s clothes, and Harry grabbed up his trunk.

“Why have grabbed your chest?” Thor frowned.

“I thought I could rent a room at the inn for the next two nights,” Harry shrugged.

“Nonsense, if you are going to go off to school I wish to spend as much time with you as possible before we are separated,” Thor insisted looking uncharacteristically vulnerable.

The two of them had a rocky start to their relationship. The past week or so that they should have been bonding and getting to know one another Thor had been forced to go out searching during all hours of the day. They were still relative strangers to one another. Now Harry was leaving, and there was nothing Thor could do about it because he had his own set of responsibilities that he needed to see to.

“All right then, after shopping I’ll come back here,” Harry agreed.

Thor nodded in relief.

The trip to London was quick. Thor landed in a secluded alleyway at Harry’s suggestion. Humans weren’t quite as unaware of unique abilities as they used to be but a flying man would draw too much unnecessary attention. It did make Harry wonder just what the wizarding world thought of the whole alien invasion thing. Thor walked with him all the way to the Leaky Cauldron. He wasn’t the least bit surprised to discover that Thor was more than capable of looking through the charms surrounding the little pub.

“You can come pick me up in a couple of hours. I should have everything I need by then,” Harry told Thor when they stopped in front of the pub.

“You don’t wish for me to accompany you?” Thor asked looking a bit like a kicked puppy.

“I… I mean I didn’t think you would want to come shopping with me,” Harry said hesitantly. He already felt bad about keeping Jormungandr a secret from him, and for heading off to Hogwarts without him.

“I do wish to,” Thor assured him eagerly.

“Okay,” Harry had no idea how he was going to explain Thor’s presence but he just hoped no one noticed him.

Harry snorted to himself at the thought. He was the Boy-Who-Lived and Thor was a massive blonde god. Thor was dressed only in his blue and silver leather vest with blue leggings but Mjolnir hung from his belt, and there was an unmistakable aura of power surrounding him that wizards were bound to notice. Harry had no idea if the wizards were even aware of what had happened in New York. As a whole wizards seemed to completely ignore whatever was happening in the outside world. They didn’t have tellies or keep up to date with the muggle newspapers. He could only hope that they didn’t know who Thor was. Harry took a deep breath. They would just have to ignore the stares, and if anyone approached them… well they would deal with problems as they came. It seemed that was often Harry’s life motto. He should probably do something about that.

Harry wasn’t sure what would happen if he told wizards that Thor was his father. It would undoubtedly cause all sorts of backlash about him having a different father even if James Potter was well aware of that fact. Besides the entire reason Loki and James had decided to keep the truth from everyone is because they were afraid Voldemort and his Death Eaters would come after him. Voldemort was still out there somewhere as an angry spirit, and many of his Death Eaters were free. Who knows what they would attempt to do if they discovered he was something more than human? And it wasn’t just the Death Eaters that Harry needed to worry about. The entire wizarding world would have extreme reactions to finding out just who his parents really were. Not that he planned on anyone knowing Lily Potter’s true identity anytime soon.

Harry pushed his own internal musings aside. The two of them had been standing outside of the Leaky Cauldron for long enough. Harry led the way inside the little pub. It was a weekday, and the pub wasn’t all that busy. Thor wanted to sample some of the fire whiskey that the pub offered, and insisted they stop for lunch. While Thor went up to the barkeeper, Tom, to order, Harry got the two of them a booth in a secluded part of the bar.

“Are you sure bringing him along was a good idea?” Jormungandr hissed, poking his head out from under his shirt.

“I’m certain it wasn’t,” Harry sighed.

“Then why did you agree? Thor is like the proverbial bull in a china shop. He’s bound to draw attention,” Jormungandr pointed out.

“Probably, but any trouble we might have will be worth it because it will be the most time we’ve spent together since I’ve known him,” Harry murmured.

“If there’s too much trouble I’ll take care of it,” Jormungandr announced.

“Oh, you’re very terrifying,” Harry teased.

“I’ll have you know I’m venomous. I could fell an elephant with one bite,” Jormungandr sniffed, still clearly not enjoying his much smaller form.

Harry snorted but was saved from replying when Thor returned with their meals and a tall glass of bubbling alcohol.

“How did you pay for this?” Harry asked in confusion. He’d completely forgotten that Thor wouldn’t have wizarding currency on him.

“The barkeeper, Tom a most generous man, gave it to me free of charge. He saw us come in together, and he recognized you. Have you done some great deed for him to provide you with free meals?”

“Yeah sort of. You remember the story I told you and the Avengers about the terrorist attacking James and Loki when he thought he was Lily?”

Thor nodded.

“Well, that was a non-magical version. The real story is…”

Harry outlined the events that had taken place on that Halloween night, and just why he was famous in the wizarding world. Harry told him just how hated and feared Voldemort was, and how happy everyone was that Harry had gotten rid of him. He stopped the story when he got to his first year at Hogwarts not sure if they had enough time for him to go into the full details of his first two years at Hogwarts.

“This dark wizard, he is vanquished?” Thor was obviously concerned over Voldemort coming after Harry again.

“Not exactly,” Harry muttered.

Thor’s frown deepened, and Harry hastened to explain about how he was now a wraith-like creature without a body.

“So he can’t really hurt me,” Harry concluded.

“Spirits are deadly things, difficult to be gotten rid of because they lack a physical form and cannot be destroyed by normal means. Do you believe he will come for you?” Thor questioned worriedly.

Harry sighed it seemed like he would have to tell Thor about his first two years at Hogwarts after all. But later, he didn’t want Voldemort to ruin their trip.

“I think he will,” Harry confided.

“He will not touch you,” Thor swore. “I may not be knowledgeable in the ways of magic and spirits but I will not allow harm to come to my son.”

Harry smiled at Thor. Having an immortal god as a father certainly made Harry feel better, and Thor wasn’t the only one who had promised to protect him form Voldemort. Loki had as well. It was doubtful that Voldemort would stand a chance against two gods.

“We should start shopping. I have a lot things to get,” Harry said in hopes of moving the subject away from Voldemort.

“Yes, I cannot wait to see this magical alley,” Thor enthused.

The two of them made their way out to the back alley and Harry used his wand to tap the appropriate bricks to open up the alleyway. Thor gasped audibly when he caught his first sight of the alley. It was a beautiful sight and even after seeing it before Harry was still a bit entranced by it.

“I did not think mortals had such things,” Thor exclaimed as they began strolling through the alley.

Harry nodded distractedly. He was going through the amount of galleons he had on him and trying to determine if he would need to visit his vault or not. Harry was surprised to find quite a bit more in the bag than he remembered there being. Had Loki somehow slipped galleons into his bag? He did seem capable of drawing galleons seemingly out of thin air. Either way he now had enough to pay for all of his school supplies without making a stop to Gringotts.

Their first stop was Madame Malkin’s for a new set of robes. Harry had grown quite a bit over the last school year and there was no way his old robes were going to cut it. Madame Malkin cast curious glances towards Thor but other than that she didn’t seem to recognize him nor did she ask him any questions about who he was. No one else was in the shop to bother them. The rest of the trip continued in a similar manner, and Harry was feeling comfortable enough for the two of them to stop and get some ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s.

“This confection is most delicious. What is it called again?” Thor asked.

“It’s called a banana split,” Harry answered.

“A banana split. I will have another,” Thor announced.

He lifted his empty bowl as if to smash it to the ground. Harry’s face twisted in horror, and he reached out to stop him. But at the last minute Thor paused thinking better of it. Harry sighed in relief. A smashed bowl would definitely have drawn unnecessary attention to them.

“My Midgardian friends have taught me that it is not an acceptable custom to break your pottery on the ground when you wish for more,” Thor explained solemnly.

“No, it’s rather frowned upon in most places,” Harry agreed. “I’ll order you another sundae, all right? Just wait here.”

Thor nodded as Harry stood up to walk over, and make the order at the counter. As he was waiting for the employee to make the banana spilt a few more people got in line behind him. Harry didn’t think anything of it until they spoke, and he recognized the voices. He cursed his luck, and wondered what his chances were of slipping away before they noticed him. What was a family like the Malfoy’s even doing at the ice cream parlor?

“Sirius Black has been declared innocent. It is quite the scandal,” Lucius Malfoy’s oily voice whispered from behind him. His voice was obviously meant to be low enough so others around him couldn’t overhear but Harry’s hearing had become stronger and he was easily able to eavesdrop on them.

“Perhaps I should send a letter to my cousin. He’s quite popular at the moment, and it wouldn’t do for us to be seen being standoffish,” a woman replied. Harry could only guess that she was Draco’s mother.

“Wonderful idea,” Lucius agreed.

Draco started to speak but Thor’s sundae finally arrived and it was time for Harry to make his getaway. He turned quickly to try and get back to his seat before they could recognize him.

“Potter?” Draco questioned.

Harry reluctantly turned to face his school nemesis. Malfoy had gotten a little taller but other than that he looked the same. His face was still just as pointy, and his short white blonde hair was slicked back.

“Malfoy,” Harry nodded.

His gaze darted to his parents. Harry had the pleasure of meeting Malfoy Senior last year. But this was his first time meeting Mrs. Malfoy. She was pretty with perfectly styled blonde hair, and wore an icy demeanor.

“What did you do with your glasses, Potter? Finally got tired of looking like an idiot, did you? Wait, are your eyes a different color?” Draco asked curiously.

Of course Draco would be the only one to notice this change. He’d been shopping all day, and not a single person had noticed. Draco’s parents watched the two of them closely, no doubt eager to grasp at any little detail of information that they could use against him. All of the Malfoys must really hate him now after the way he’d tricked Lucius into freeing Dobby at the end of the last school year.

“Contacts, Malfoy. They’re a muggle invention. They’re little glasses that go right on the eye. They can even be different colors so that they change the color of your eyes. Would you like to see?” Harry reached a finger up to his eye as if to take it out.

“No need, Potter. It’s disgusting that muggles would put things like that on their eyes. Barbaric,” Draco sneered.

Harry just smirked.

“Are you here alone, Mr. Potter?” Draco’s mother asked, in what was no doubt feigned concern.

“No,” Harry replied stiffly. He could feel Jormungandr wriggling about under his jacket as he sensed Harry’s distress.

He was planning his second attempt at a getaway when Thor appeared at his side.

“Harek, why… Oh is this one of your friends from school?” Thor questioned, smiling broadly at Draco and putting an arm around Harry’s shoulders even while he took the sundae from Harry’s hands.

“Er…” Harry was at a loss as to what he should do.

“Hello, I’m Lucius Malfoy. This is my wife Narcissa and our son Draco. My son does indeed go to school with Mr. Potter. Who are you if you don’t mind my asking?” Lucius questioned the utter picture of cordiality as if he hadn’t attacked Harry just a few short months ago. Lucius’s gray eyes took in Thor’s appearance, and he no doubt sensed a touch of Thor’s power. Not to mention Thor and Harry’s obvious resemblance.

“I am Thor Odinson,” replied Thor reaching forward to clasp Lucius’s free hand in a firm handshake. It was amusing to watch Lucius’s composure slip a bit as Thor forcefully shook his hand in his strong grasp.

“You are a relative of Mr. Potter’s?” Narcissa asked once Thor had released Lucius’s hand. The longhaired wizard was too busy to ask himself as he was trying to covertly rub his slightly crushed fingers.

Harry froze in panic. He had no idea what to do. Should he stop Thor? The Malfoys were certainly the last people who needed to know about their relationship.

“He’s my mum’s brother,” Harry answered before Thor could say anything.

Thor sent him a confused, and slightly hurt look. Harry mouthed ‘trust me’. Thor reluctantly nodded.

“Your uncle then? I went to school with your mother. I was aware she had a sister but not a brother,” Lucius frowned.

“She’s adopted,” Harry replied. “Thor’s her real brother.”

“I see, and where are you from Mr. Odinson?” Lucius asked politely.

Thor spoke up this time before Harry was able to intervene.

“Asgard,” Thor answered.

“Asgard?” Narcissa questioned.

“Yes, Asgard, the Realm Eternal,” Thor nodded proudly.

“Are you saying you’re an Asgardian? A god? I mean you certainly can’t really be claiming to be _Thor_ , the God of Thunder, can you?” Draco asked skeptically.

But Lucius’s calculating eyes were locked on Mjolnir, which hung so casually from Thor’s belt.

“Indeed I am,” Thor smiled.

“Prove it,” Draco demanded.

“Draco,” Narcissa reprimanded.

“It is all right. I have become accustomed to Midgardians not believing my claim,” Thor reassured them.

“Thor, what are you going to do?” Harry asked worriedly.

“Hold my split banana sun-day,” Thor replied as he pulled Mjolnir from his belt.

Harry took the bowl just as Thor raised Mjolnir and instantly clouds began to gather outside the ice cream parlor. In an instance a crack of lightning struck the cobble stone street of Diagon Alley startling the witches and wizards that had been walking by.

Draco’s mouth dropped open, and even the older Malfoys looked flabbergasted. Harry took a moment to savor the looks of shock on their faces before his common sense could return, and he could remember just why this was such a bad idea.  

“You truly are Thor, the Prince of Asgard,” Lucius looked a little awed despite himself.

“I am, I have come to spend time with Harek before he returns to school. We were going to return to Asgard, however, our trip has been delayed so for the time being Harek will be returning to Hogwarts until we are able to return to Asgard. I’m happy that I have gotten the chance to meet one of his friends,” Thor enthused.

“He’s not really my friend,” Harry finally admitted.

Lucius sent him a glare. Draco was still too busy staring at Thor in a state of shocked awe to hear what Harry said.

“Why not?” Thor frowned.

“We just have very different views,” Harry replied stiffly.

“Yes, you have had your differences but I am sure things can change,” Lucius smiled winningly, obviously attempting to get in Thor’s good graces. Loki was right, witches and wizards did revere Asgardians. The Malfoys had living proof that they were real standing right in front of them. Being the Slytherins that they were, they wanted to get on Thor’s good side.

“I don’t think so,” Harry smirked. He enjoyed having the upper hand over Lucius. After the trouble he had caused for Harry last year, he deserved it. “After all you were responsible for the incident with the basilisk, Mr. Malfoy.”

Thor’s expression instantly darkened, and thunder boomed. Thor’s anger was actually a terrifying sight to behold. Harry was used to seeing him constantly smiling, and in a good mood. Not seeing him that way was scary. Apparently the Malfoys thought so too because they all took a step away from the enraged Thunder God.

“You endangered Harek’s life?” Thor demanded.

“Mr. Odinson, there is an explanation for what happened,” Lucius cautioned.

“He could have died facing a basilisk. There is no excuse for the threat posed to his life,” Thor growled.

“No, there is not, and I apologize. It was all a very large misunderstanding. It won’t happen again,” Lucius attempted to calm Thor.

“No, it will not. For if you endanger his life again I will personally better acquaint you with Mjolnir,” Thor grinned darkly. “You will stay far away from my—from Harek from now on. Do you understand?”

“Of course, I understand perfectly. We really must be off now, good day,” Lucius herded his family from the parlor without bothering to get what they had walked in the shop for.

“You didn’t have to threaten the Malfoys,” Harry murmured once they were gone.

“I will let no one harm you, Harek,” Thor swore.

“Right, thank you. You were brilliant by the way. They were terrified,” Harry laughed.

Thor chuckled as well. “He did seem quite frightened.”

“I’m sorry about the whole uncle thing. But I just think it would be better if the wizarding world didn’t know about any of it. At least for now. The uncle thing will be enough for them to mull over,” Harry murmured.

“I understand,” Thor agreed still looking a bit distressed.

“I’ll tell my real friends the truth of course, and I can introduce you to them,” Harry offered in hopes of brightening his mood once more.

“I would very much like to meet your friends,” Thor smiled.

“Great,” Harry smiled back.

Thor went back to eating his banana split. Afterwards they finished up the rest of the shopping and returned to the helicarrier. Thor was immediately called out on a lead on Loki.

“It’s not really, him is it?” Harry asked Jormungandr nervously.

“No, trust me, Harry. He’s safe,” Jormungandr reassured him.

Harry sighed in relief. But it meant that Thor had gone out on a false lead, and that was more time the two of them lost with one another. Harry hoped the next two days would allow them to spend a bit more time with one another before he was forced to leave.


	9. Back to School

There were only two days left before Harry returned to Hogwarts. Loki could hardly wait. He'd spent his days since returning to Hogwarts reacquainting himself with the other professors as they arrived, and trying to slip back into the mindset of Lily Evans. It was a bit difficult. While they were essentially the same person, Lily had a much happier childhood and therefore was a much happier and carefree person than Loki. She hadn't had all of the baggage that Loki had accumulated from his hundreds of years of life. However, any inconsistences that they noticed were waved away as grief over losing her husband, and realizing she had missed twelve years of her son's life. Despite the difficulties it was nice being back at Hogwarts. She got to see all of her favorite professors, and it was relaxing to know that she was safely hidden behind the powerful wards of the magical school.

Loki hadn't seen the one staff member she was dreading to see, Severus, and he was supposed to be arriving today. They had not spoken more than a few words to one another since Severus had come to apologize for the incident in their fifth year. Loki had been shocked to discover that Severus was the Potions Professor at Hogwarts. The position didn't seem to fit with Severus's character in the slightest, and there was the fact that Severus had been a Death Eater. Dumbledore swore that Severus had switched sides to become a spy for the Order. Loki had managed to glean the information that Severus had been the one to tell Voldemort about the prophecy, and when Severus discovered that Voldemort had targeted and Loki's family he'd switched sides in an attempt to protect his former friend.

Loki had missed Severus once they had parted ways. He had been Loki's first friend as Lily. In truth he was probably closer to being Loki's first friend period. Thor had always been his brother, and therefore they were naturally supposed to be close especially since they were so close in age. Thor had his friends but they weren't Loki's friends. To Loki it had always felt more like they tolerated his involvement in their adventures for the sake of Thor. Severus's decision to spend time with Malfoy, and Mulciber instead of her had begun to weaken Loki's trust of him. The final straw that broke their already weakening friendship was Severus's sharp slur. The insult caused Loki to realize just how much Severus had allowed himself to be influenced by the future Death Eaters, and she had decided to cut ties completely with Severus no matter how much it pained her.

Not only was Severus a professor but soon Remus would be coming to Hogwarts on the first of September as well. It would certainly be an interesting time spent with Remus and Severus in the same place. Sirius was also bound to make the occasional appearance now that he was considered a free man. But only after receiving his treatment first. The ex-convict had been forced to spend some mandatory recovery time in St. Mungos to help heal some of the damage done to his mind so for now he was stuck in the hospital.

Loki had also been reacquainting herself with the wizarding world, and gathering all of the information she could about Harry's first two years at Hogwarts. The other professors were only too glad to help her with that endeavor. They spoke highly of Harry, and went on about how he was a kind and friendly boy. They said he was someone the other students looked up to, and excelled in Defense. He did well in Charms and Transfiguration, and was average in the others. There was also mention of the adventures that he got himself into. The basilisk incident had only been one incident. Harry's first year also seemed to be filled with dangerous adventures one that included a full-grown mountain troll, a three-headed dog, and the shade of Voldemort if her conversation with Minerva McGonagall was anything to go. Loki decided she really needed to have a proper talk with Harry.

"If you can excuse me, Minerva," Loki smiled kindly at the older witch.

"Of course, dear," Minerva nodded.

Loki needed to get away to have some time alone to think. Her son had come so close to true harm countless times over his very short life, and Loki hadn't been there to protect him. It left Loki feeling horrible and angry at herself and all those around her.

Her mission to get away was waylaid when she caught sight of Severus. The passing years had been unkind to Severus. The thin, unkempt boy from her childhood memories had become a sallow faced, greasy haired man with a dour disposition. Loki froze, she wasn't ready to face Severus quite yet. Her former friend seemed to have just arrived as he was still carrying a traveling bag over his shoulder. Most likely he hadn't spoken to Dumbledore yet, and he wouldn't be aware of Loki's miraculous return from the dead. It would certainly make this meeting a great deal more complicated.

Loki tried to duck into the nearest corridor. But it was far too late. Severus had already seen her.

"Lily?" Severus's voice was deeper, and rougher than Loki remembered.

Loki turned to face the Potions Master.

"It is you. For a moment I thought I was seeing things, and perhaps I still am. What other explanation can there be for you to be standing here in front of me?" Severus was slowly moving towards Loki as if afraid that she would disappear.

"It's really me, Severus. I'm really here," Loki assured her former friend.

"How? How can you possibly be standing here in front of me?" Severus questioned, still looking utterly lost and disbelieving. He reached a hand out as if to touch Loki, and reassure himself that she was in fact solid and not an illusion.

"I don't know. I don't know how I got here," Loki replied.

His mind was wandering back to the life changing moment on Jotunheim when the Jotun grabbed his arm. He hadn't gotten frostbite like Volstagg had. His arm had simply turned blue. The same exact shade of blue as the Jotun's own skin. Loki had tried to forget what had happened. He should have just forgotten what had happened. But he hadn't been able to. Loki had went looking answers, and oh, what a mistake that had been.

His entire life had been a lie. He wasn't the child of Odin and Frigga. He was the abandoned child of a monster. Not truly wanted by either side. At least he understood now why Odin had always favored Thor over him. It was almost a relief to Loki to have that knowledge. It meant there was a reason for Odin not to like him, and he wasn't just an utter failure. Frigga's dishonesty was what had hurt Loki the most. If there was one person in the universe Loki had always trusted it had been Frigga. He could always go to her with his problems, and trust that she would be there to support and fight for him. Realizing she had kept such a secret from him for so long had been world shattering for Loki.

The pain of betrayal had caused him to act rashly. He admitted that now. He had struck out at those who had caused him pain. The plan had been to get rid of both Odin and Laufey. At the last moment he hadn't been able to go through with it. Loki had gotten the irrational idea that he would be able to prove himself to Odin, and finally earn his love by destroying Asgard's most hated enemy. He'd dispatched Laufey and his guards, and then he'd turned his attention on Jotunheim. He'd wanted to destroy anything that might remind him that he was a Jotun beneath the illusions on his skin. He'd failed, and in the end he'd made the choice to fall into the void rather than continue living the lie his life had become. After all he had sacrificed his own children in the hopes of making Odin proud. Only in the end for it to mean nothing.

In the void his memories as Lily had finally been unlocked, and for the first time since discovering the truth of his origins he had felt hopeful. He had thought that perhaps he could return to his life as Lily and leave Asgard behind for good. Only for that hope to later be crushed when he had been taken in by the Other and his Master. He'd had no choice but to do as he commanded. But Loki was clever, and he was able to find loopholes in those commands. They thought they had complete control over Loki's mind but he had saved a small part of himself. The part that had stored all of his memories of Lily, and his youngest son. It had allowed him to be himself when he was with Harry, and not worry about the Other finding out about their interactions.

Loki was completely free but he still feared retribution for thwarting him. Loki had intentionally attacked the Avengers, and struck them close to home knowing full well that it would create a drive to come together and defeat their common enemy. He had gotten the Avengers to defeat the Other's army, now Loki could focus on finding a way to defeat the Other's Master if he decided to come after Loki.

"This is impossible," Severus repeated, drawing Loki back to the present.

"It is, but it's true. I'm really here," Loki assured him.

"How can you possibly expect me to believe you?" Severus snarled, becoming defensive.

"I suppose you could ask me a question that only you and I would know the answer to," Loki offered.

"The first time we met, what were you doing?" Severus questioned.

"I was swinging. Petunia was berating me about going too high and drawing attention to myself," Loki replied.

"Lily? Is it really you? How could this have happened?" Severus's eyes were wide in amazement.

"I just woke up in Harry's ruined nursery. I went to St Mungos to try and find Harry and James only to learn that twelve years had passed. Only the Minister, Dumbledore, and a couple of healers were aware that I'm back. We don't how but they did a lot of tests to prove my identity. We're going to make my return public once school starts, and I'm able to speak with Harry. He deserves to know the truth before everyone else does. I'm going to be staying here at Hogwarts for at least the year. Remus and I will be sharing the Defense position," Loki smiled.

"Of course, because he is a werewolf," Severus agreed, still dazed.

"It's been a long time, Severus, since we last really spoke with one another. For you it's been even longer," Loki began cautiously.

"Indeed, Lily, I… I need to tell you something. I have always regretted that I was never able to apologize. Now, that I've been given a second chance I do not want to take it for granted," Severus said.

"I know about the prophecy, Severus. I know it was you that told Voldemort," Loki informed him curtly.

Severus reared back, fear flashing across his features.

"And I think it is something we can talk about more later. It is not a conversation we should have in the middle of the corridors," Loki pointed out.

In all honesty Loki couldn't exactly blame the man for what he had done. He certainly hadn't told Voldemort the prophecy with the intent of setting Voldemort on their trail. Unfortunately that's exactly what happened, and if Severus had only turned away from the influence of the Death Eaters then perhaps it would have never happened at all. But it had and Loki decided that they at least needed to have a somewhat cordial relationship with one another if they were going to be seeing each other quite a bit over the next few months.

"Of course, I must speak with the Headmaster," Severus nodded.

"I'll see you later, Severus."

"Yes, I will see you again, Lily," Severus smiled, and for a moment he looked like the lost little boy Loki remembered befriending.

Loki nodded once to Severus, and turned back towards her quarters. She could feel Severus eyes on her until she had left the man's line of sight. Loki sighed her thoughts turning back to Harry. She was disappointed that Harry hadn't been completely honest with her. But she understood that Harry had only known her for a short period of time. Of course he wouldn't want to divulge all of his secrets to her. Loki wouldn't stand for it now. She wanted the entire truth from Harry now. School couldn't start fast enough.

/

Today was the last day he would get to spend with Thor before he had to go back to school. Thor was determined to fit in as much father-son bonding time as they could. Unfortunately for Harry that meant a variety of embarrassing activities. The first being swimming lessons. Thor had learned that Harry didn't know how to swim earlier in the week. Harry never thought that Thor would remember that information or decide that it meant he needed to teach Harry how to swim by dropping him in the ocean. Thankfully Thor didn't just leave him floundering in the water. He quickly dove in after him and helped to support him to keep his head above the surface.

Harry was spluttering, and kicking his feet, trying to learn what worked best to keep him from sinking. Surprisingly, despite the fact that he knew the ocean water had to be freezing it didn't feel cold to Harry at all.

"When you said bonding time, I didn't think you meant this," Harry cried, still more than a little shocked that Thor had done this.

"It is a father's duty to teach their son how to swim. What if the helicarrier had sunk? You would have drowned," Thor informed him seriously.

"So you threw me in the ocean?" Harry questioned, pushing away from Thor. He was confident he could swim on his own now.

"It is how Father taught Loki and I. Although, he did not jump in after us. We would have nearly drowned had it not been for Loki's magic. I did not wish to do the same thing to you," Thor explained, keeping a firm grip on Harry to make sure his head stayed above the surface.

Harry could only laugh in disbelief, and reached out to splash Thor. Thor laughed and splashed back. A bit too enthusiastically because he caused a small tidal wave and had to yank Harry out of the water or else he would have been swept under with his barely developed swimming skills.

Thor tried to teach him how to wrestle next. He wanted to teach Harry how to sword fight to defend himself but since they didn't have any Asgardian blades on hand he settled for teaching him how to use his body. Harry was fairly certain that he was the worst wrestler that had ever existed. He wasn't sure if he was just naturally untalented in that area or if it was simply that he hadn't quite gotten used to the new length of his limbs yet. It was a nice way to measure his new strength, and durability as he rarely got the chance to push his new strength to its limits. But the rest of it turned out to be pretty awful.

"Don't worry, my son. You will have many years to find a weapon you excel at," Thor assured, clapping him on the back.

The two of them had finally stopped practicing, and were now sitting on a bench in the gym, cooling down.

"I think I'd be better with a sword or something. I did okay with the basilisk, and that was the first time I ever held a sword before," Harry explained.

"I had forgotten about the basilisk," Thor frowned.

"You're not upset about it are you?" Harry asked.

"I would like to ensure that you are safe when you return to Hogwarts. After meeting that particular family I am worried such a thing might happen again. I did not realize that this dark wizard who attacked you still held such loyal followers who would seek to attack you."

"Er, right. I do seem to have a knack for attracting trouble," Harry nodded, wondering what Thor was getting at.

"I would like to speak with your headmaster," Thor informed him.

"All right, I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Harry shrugged. "I'll set up an appointment once I get back to school."

"Wonderful," Thor grinned.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, and reminding Thor that he didn't need to fit in a lifetime worth of activities in just one day. Today wouldn't be the last day they spent together. Harry smiled to think that they would have a lot more time to spend together. He wanted the chance to get to know Thor better. Harry had really enjoyed the time they had already spent together.

September 1st dawned with Harry eagerly running around and making sure he had packed all of his things. He'd spent a couple of weeks on the helicarrier, and he'd really settled in to his space. Jormungandr helpfully reminded him that some of his summer work had slipped behind his bed, and he had to yank the bed out from its bolted down position. Once he had the parchment he carefully put the bed back in place. It wasn't bolted down any more but Director Fury wouldn't find out about it until Harry was safely tucked away in Hogwarts.

Harry dragged his trunk, and Hedwig's cage out of his room. Hedwig had already started the journey towards Hogwarts. Jormungandr was wrapped up securely under his jacket. Harry met up with Thor and the other Avengers on the runway. They would be taking a quin jet, and then a car to the train station instead of Thor flying them. Fury insisted on being less conspicuous. The media had already done a report about catching sight of Thor flying around with a dark haired boy twice now. Everyone agreed it wouldn't be a good idea for the world to find out about Harry's existence.

The other Avengers all thought Harry was going to some prestigious boarding school. Fury was both pleased to get him off his helicarrier, and worried about letting him out of his sight. Something Thor quickly disabused him of. All of the Avengers had soon learned that Thor wouldn't take any jabs against Harry or Loki in his presence. He'd nearly punched Barton when he'd called Loki a crazed lunatic. Steve had quickly stepped between the two of them to stop a fight from breaking out. Thor had only stated that he wouldn't hear Loki spoken ill of especially in Harry's presence.

"Do you have everything you need, Harek?" Thor questioned in concern.

"Yup," Harry nodded.

"Natasha shall fly us to our destination, and Tony shall drive us the rest of the way to the train station," Thor informed him.

Harry nodded, and said goodbye to those who would be left behind. They climbed aboard the jet and took off. The trip was short and soon they were saying their goodbyes to Natasha. Tony had some type of sports car waiting for them. Thor in a sports car was a sight to behold. His broad shouldered, muscular frame was definitely not meant for such a small, fast vehicle. Plus Harry's trunk taking up space the sports car ended up looking more like a clown car.

Tony parked outside of Kings Cross Station, and he stayed in the car while Harry and Thor made their way inside the station.

"See you later, Elsa," Tony waved goodbye from the car.

Harry glared at the billionaire who only grinned back. Tony and the other Avengers had all witnessed at one time or another Harry's difficulty trying to master his ice powers. Tony had taken to giving him nicknames like Frosty or Elsa, who apparently was some sort of queen from a Disney movie with ice abilities. Harry pretended to be annoyed but he actually didn't mind all that much. At least Tony wasn't afraid or suspicious of his powers.

"Goodbye Tony," Harry called, waving back.

Harry showed Thor the way to Platform 9¾. Thor was a little leery about stepping through a seemingly solid wall. But really the worst that would have happened to the Asgardian would have been him breaking the brick wall. On the other side of the barrier everything was chaos as parents said their goodbyes, and students met up with friends they hadn't seen all summer. The magnificent scarlet steam engine billowed white smoke, covering up the ceiling. Harry hadn't gotten a chance to board the Hogwarts Express last year due to Dobby closing the barrier on him and Ron.

Harry was looking around for the Weasleys or the Grangers. Thor was eager to meet his friends, and it shouldn't have been that hard to find a group of red heads. They undoubtedly would stand out in a crowd. Harry soon caught sight of them standing by one of the entrances to the train. The Grangers were with them.

"Harry!" Hermione called happily, running to hug him once she saw him coming towards them.

"Hi, Hermione," Harry smiled, easily catching her but careful not to hug her too tightly now with his added strength. It was something he had been working on with Thor.

"You've gotten even taller, and what did you do with your glasses? Are your eyes a different color?" Hermione questioned rapid fire, observant as ever.

"Give him some breathing room, Hermione," Ron chastised. "Hi, mate."

"Hey, Ron, how was Egypt?" Harry asked pleasantly as they shook hands.

"It was good. We got to see a bunch of warded Egyptian tombs and such. I'll tell you all about it once we get on the train. But that's not the big news I have to tell you," Ron said practically bouncing with excitement.

"I have something I need to tell you too, and the eyes are a part of what I need to tell you," Harry explained.

"But Harry—"

"I want you both to meet my uncle," Harry cut her off.

"Uncle? You have another uncle other than the fat one?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"I found out my mum was adopted, and I met my real uncle this summer. Ron, Hermione this is Thor," Harry waved to Thor. "Thor these are my best friends Ron and Hermione."

"It is a most joyous occasion to meet Harek's friends," Thor boomed causing several wizards and witches to look in their direction.

At least today Thor was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with the SHIELD logo on it. Although, jeans were probably stranger to wizards than Thor's normal attire. He'd also left Mjolnir back on the helicarrier.

"Hullo," Ron greeted Thor with a slightly awed expression as he took in the massive blonde god.

"You're Thor from the news. They were reporting that you were the real God of Thunder," Hermione gaped.

"God of Thunder?" Ron frowned. "Like from Norse legend?"

"Exactly like that," Harry agreed.

"Children what are you doing… Oh who are you?" Molly Weasley questioned of Thor.

The other Weasleys and Hermione's parents all migrated over to see what was keeping the three teenagers. Harry smiled to see all of the Weasleys. He'd had a wonderful time at their house last summer. It had been one of the best summers of his life. But it had been surpassed by this summer after all the excitement of finding out about his parents, and meeting his brother.

Both Arthur and Molly Weasley were there to see their children off, all five of them. It was the oldest, Percy's last year while it was the twin's Fred and George's fifth year. Ron of course was in Harry's year while the youngest and only girl, Ginny would be a second year. There were two more Weasley siblings but they were older and off pursuing their careers. Harry had never met them. He'd always been jealous of Ron's large and rambunctious family but now that he had his own rather large family he was able to look at the Weasleys with affection and without the burning to desire to be a part of their family. He was very happy with his own family even if they were a little dysfunctional.

"I am Harek's uncle, Thor," Thor greeted smiling happily at Mrs. Weasley and the others.

Harry was pleased that he had remembered to introduce himself as such. The two of them had a talk earlier about why Harry had to introduce him as his uncle on the train platform. Thor had understood and agreed that it was a better idea to keep the truth closer to home. Harry assured Thor that he would tell his friends the truth in private but until then they would keep up the ruse.

Mrs. Weasley flushed red and stuttered out, "Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Molly Weasley. I'm Ron's mother. We didn't realize Harry had another uncle."

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley, we just got acquainted over the summer since it was his first time visiting Earth and all," Harry explained.

"It has been wonderful to have this chance to get to know, Harek," Thor nodded, smiling proudly at Harry.

"That's nice, that you've found more family, Harry dear," she smiled at Thor. But she was looking a bit uncertain. Harry could understand her wariness. It was a little suspicious that he had just shown up with a previous unknown relative.

Mrs. Weasley proceeded to introduce the rest of her family members, and the Grangers.

"Forgive me for asking but aren't you the one from that whole big mess in New York?" Hermione's dad questioned.

"I did take part in the battle. It was a difficult fight but in the end my fellows and I prevailed against the Chitauri," Thor agreed good-naturedly.

"Battle? There was a battle in America?" Mr. Weasley questioned.

"Oh, yes, didn't you hear? Aliens tried to invade the planet with some Norse god controlling them. A different Norse god than Thor of course," Hermione's mother nodded.

"Loki, I think his name was," Hermione's father added.

"Yes, Loki is his name," Thor agreed gravely.

"What are a-lee-ins?" Mr. Weasley questioned. Considering the man didn't know what a rubber duck was used for it wasn't surprising that he didn't quite understand the principle behind aliens.

Once Hermione's parents had explained a bit about what had happened all of the Weasleys were in a bit more awe of just what Thor had done.

"You are really  _the_  Thor?" Mr. Weasley asked, as wide-eyed as his children.

"I am the only Thor in all of Asgard," Thor nodded, confused.

Harry decided to step in before the two of them got themselves anymore confused. "Mr. Weasley, Thor is the one that all the myths and legends about the Norse God of Thunder are based on. He isn't exactly the same as what the legends say but it's pretty close. The same goes for the rest of Asgard and the other Asgardians."

It was clear that the others wanted to ask more questions about exactly how this all happened but the train whistle went off warning them that they only had a few more minutes to board the train.

"I've got to get on the train," Harry turned to Thor.

"I know, I will miss you," Thor was so honest, and genuine. It was so easy for Harry to see just how much Thor would actual miss him.

"I'll miss you, too," Harry assured him.

"You will tell me of a good time that I can come speak to your headmaster, and the first weekend I can meet you at this Hogsmeade town?" Thor reminded him.

"Of course, I'll send Hedwig with a letter," Harry nodded.

"I want to see this school of yours, and perhaps come and see you participate in this flying broom game of yours," Thor looked eager at the thought.

"All right, I'll let you know as soon as I know the days," Harry agreed.

"Good," Thor smiled, and in a quick move Thor enveloped him in his warm embrace.

"I will see you soon, my son," Thor whispered into his hair, gripping him tightly.

"See you soon," Harry hugged him back.

Eventually Harry was the one who had to break the hug. Harry was fairly certain that Thor wouldn't have let go if Harry hadn't. He climbed onto the train with Hermione and Ron. They found a compartment and Harry instantly went to the window to say his last goodbyes to Thor as the train began to pull away from the station. Thor did the same, waving to him until the train had completely disappeared from view. Harry sighed as he slumped back down in his seat. It was only then that he noticed the other person in their compartment. He wore shaggy robes that had been patched many, many times. Various scars littered his face, and his brown hair seemed to be prematurely turning gray at the temples. He was apparently in a deep sleep.

"Who is he?" Harry frowned.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione answered promptly.

"How d'you know that?" Ron frowned.

"It's on his case," Hermione pointed to the beaten up old bag.

"He must be our new Defense professor," Harry guessed.

"Most likely. It's the only vacancy," Hermione agreed.

"Huh, I hope he's up to it. He looks like one strong hex would do him in," Ron commented.

"Ronald!" Hermione hissed.

"He does look a little unwell," Harry offered in Ron's defense.

"He's just tired," Hermione argued.

"Oh, who cares? Tell us more about your uncle, Harry. Is he really a god?" Ron asked.

"He seems nice," Hermione offered tentatively.

"He is," Harry nodded answering both questions, smiling in memory of some of his time spent with Thor.

He told Ron and Hermione all Thor and his abilities, and what he knew about Asgard. Ron and Hermione were both amazed and interested to hear everything that Harry knew about Asgardians and the battle. Ron hadn't known about the battle, and was utterly gob-smacked to learn about aliens while Hermione was equally awed to learn more about Asgard. They knew he had more to tell them but he informed them it would have to wait until they were completely alone he didn't want to risk someone walking in on them or have the professor wake up in the middle of his tale. It was different for everyone to think that Lily Potter was half Asgardian, making Harry just a quarter, to everyone finding out that he was in fact not human at all.

"So Ron, you had something you wanted to tell us?" Harry changed the subject.

"You'll never guess what happened. Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban," Ron enthused.

"Who is Sirius Black?" Harry frowned.

"Er, right you wouldn't know. But everyone thought he was the one who told You-Know-Who where your parents were hiding. It turns out he didn't though. It was Peter Pettigrew! They found Pettigrew tied up in the Ministry a week or so ago, and he confessed to everything," Ron cried.

"Wait, what?" Harry frowned, trying to remember if Loki had mentioned anything like that before.

"Your parents were in hiding under the Fidelius Charm," Ron began.

"It's a very powerful charm that keeps a certain location hidden. Only those told the location by the Secret Keeper will know where the place is located," Hermione added, anticipating Harry's question.

"Everyone thought Sirius Black was their Secret Keeper especially after he went mad and chased down Peter Pettigrew. Everyone thought Black blew up the street killing a bunch of muggles and Pettigrew but he didn't. Pettigrew set it all up to make Black look guilty. Black broke out of Azkaban, found Pettigrew, and proved his innocence," Ron continued on enthusiastically.

"It's all quite exciting. No one has ever escaped from Azkaban before. They said it was impossible. Dementors guard it," Hermione explained.

"Dementors?" Harry frowned.

"They are wraith-like beings that feed off the happy memories of other's. If given the chance they will perform the Dementor's Kiss. Such a kiss is always proven fatal for it actually removes your soul. If you don't die immediately you are left in an unresponsive state forever. There is no cure," Hermione murmured for once not looking thrilled by the information she was imparting.

A shiver ran down Harry's spine at the thought of such a creature.

"But anyway that's not even the most exciting part!" Ron cut in.

"What could be more exciting than a prison break, and the discovery of someone wrongly accused was actually innocent?" Harry questioned.

"Where Peter Pettigrew was hiding. It makes me sick just to think about it," Ron turned a little green.

"Where was he?" Harry asked.

"Pettigrew was an unregistered animagus. A rat animagus. He was Scabbers! Can you believe that? He slept in my bed all of those years. A Death Eater living in our dorm room," Ron looked appropriately disgusted.

"An animagus is someone who can transform into an animal right?" Harry wanted to be sure. He wanted to share Ron's shock over discovering this information but found it was difficult. Harry was fairly certain that nothing could ever top the discovery that his parents were really powerful aliens from another world.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall is a cat animagus. You have to register with the Ministry when you become one. There aren't many because it's very difficult transformation to complete," Hermione looked thoughtful, and Harry knew she would be checking out a bunch of books on the animagus transformation from the library once she got to school.

"He was in our dorm room, Harry! And he was the Death Eater that turned your parents in!" Ron repeated, obviously expecting a more extreme reaction from Harry.

"Yeah, that's pretty awful," Harry agreed.

He could admit that he felt a stirring of hate towards Peter Pettigrew. If it wasn't for him he would have grown up with his mother in a loving environment. But then what would have happened to Loki? Would he have eventually remembered who he was? Or would he have lived his entire mortal life never knowing the truth? There really wasn't any way to find out. Harry was just happy to know that Pettigrew had been caught and was finally being punished for his crime. It was hard to work up too much anger over what Pettigrew had done. After all his mother was still alive.

Ron scowled and flopped back down on the seat.

The train ride continued on. The three of them spoke more about what they did this summer, and Harry told them some more about staying with Thor on the helicarrier. They got some candy from the trolley when it passed by. They spent the rest of the time going over homework, at Hermione's insistence, and playing a couple of games at Ron's. Harry was just happy to be doing a somewhat familiar routine again.

They reached Hogwarts by nightfall. For the first time Harry and Ron rode up to the castle in the carriages. Their first year they had gone with all the other first years by boat while second they had taken the unconventional method of flying car. Jormungandr poked his head out of Harry's robes when they got close enough. His brother gave an appreciative hiss at the sight of the large castle lit only by torchlight.

"I'm surprised Malfoy didn't try to ambush us," Ron muttered as they made their way up the steps of the castle.

"You almost sound disappointed, Ron," Harry teased.

"Just strange is all, the sneaky snake never misses the chance to try and start a fight," Ron replied gruffly.

Harry silently agreed. But he figured that Malfoy was still a little bit too frightened of Thor to dare to approach Harry right now. It was a relief not to have to deal with Malfoy for a change. Maybe he would be lucky and he wouldn't have to deal with Malfoy for the rest of the year. Yeah, right. Malfoy would work up the courage to confront him again eventually. He wouldn't be able to stand the embarrassment he had received from Thor's threats.

Harry smiled as he entered the Great Hall. The ceiling was just as beautiful as he remembered. It reflected the night sky with floating lanterns moving gently about to light the hall. Harry, Hermione, and Ron started to move towards the Gryffindor table. However, a hand on his shoulder pulled him back into the hallway. Ron and Hermione hadn't noticed and continued on without him. Harry turned to look at the person who had grabbed him. Harry was stunned by what he saw.

"Mum?" Harry gaped as he looked into the smiling face of Lily Potter nee Evans.

This was the face of the mother he was much more familiar with. This was the face he'd seen in all of the pictures in his photo album. He was utterly shocked, and momentarily any anger he felt towards Loki flew out the window at physically being face to face with his mother.

"It's me, Harry. What better place for me to hide than in plain sight?" a smirk that was all too Loki-like stretched across Lily Potter's features.

It was a surreal experience. It was one thing to be told that Loki was really Lily but to see it was another. It made everything so much more real, and he found himself wanting to embrace Loki because he, or she at the moment, was really Harry's mother.

"How are you here?" Harry gasped.

Loki looped her (his?) arm through Harry's to lead him a down the hallway a little bit and away from the entrance to the great hall. Loki explained just what his plan was, and how he had explained his miraculous resurrection as they walked.

"It will make more sense once the rumor gets around that Thor is my uncle. I'm sure someone will come up with some sort of theory," Harry replied.

"Why would everyone think Thor's your uncle?" Loki frowned.

"He went with me to Diagon Alley," Harry explained.

"Oh, that must have been an eventful trip," Loki sighed.

"We saw the Malfoys. Do you know them?" Harry asked.

"I know them, and I have a better understanding of what happened with Lucius Malfoy last year thanks to Dobby," Loki gave him a reproachful look.

Harry flushed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the basilisk," Harry muttered.

"You could have died!" Loki cried.

"Someone had to stop it, and there wasn't anyone else around to do it," Harry argued.

"You are so much like Thor, always rushing into danger," Loki sighed, but she wore a slight smile.

"Are you upset?" Harry asked.

"Not with you. I'm just upset that you felt the need to put yourself in that situation. And from now I expect you to come to me with a problem. Or Jor, or even Thor. We are your family now even if Thor and I are at odds. You can still trust both of us to help you. You don't have to do things alone, and it would be preferable that you didn't," Loki insisted.

"I will," Harry promised.

"Good," Loki smiled. "I admit I didn't intend for there to be any connection between Asgard and myself. But we can work with it. My original intention of hiding your heritage was to protect you from Death Eaters but considering you're already a target a connection to Asgard might actually protect you."

"Right, so are you really staying here?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I'm co-teaching with Professor Lupin," Loki explained.

"Wicked," Harry grinned at the thought of getting to spend more time with Loki.

"Yes, indeed," a matching grin spread itself across Loki's face.

**Author's Note:**

> So here's the prologue. njchrispatrick also deserves some credit for helping me to develop this story.


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